Lawsuit Seeks to Block Unconstitutional USPS Rule that Directs States to Overhaul Vote-by-Mail Procedures on an Impossible Timeline and Risks Disenfranchising Eligible Voters

MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) today joined a coalition of 25 states in filing a lawsuit against the United States Postal Service (USPS) challenging its new rule that purports to grant USPS the authority to regulate mail voting in elections.

Tens of millions of voters across the country rely on mail-in ballots. The coalition argues that USPS’s rule will prevent states from effectively administering their mail voting programs, putting voters at risk of being disenfranchised.

“If implemented, this unnecessary rule would bring chaos to the administration of this fall’s election,” said AG Kaul. “We must not allow the Trump administration or anyone else to unlawfully interfere with our elections.”

On March 31, President Trump issued an Executive Order attempting to, among other things, establish a national list of eligible voters and directing the USPS to transmit mail ballots only to voters on the list. On August 21, USPS announced a new rule implementing the President’s demands. The rule requires states to register every voter who is eligible to vote by mail into a new USPS database. The rule also establishes new design requirements for the mail-in ballot envelopes created by states, which must be approved by USPS before states may enter their mail-in voters into the USPS database. Under the rule, USPS will not deliver ballot mail to voters who do not appear on the USPS-generated lists and will not deliver ballots in envelopes that fail to comply with the rule’s new standards.

The coalition argues the rule inflicts significant, irreparable harm on states by imposing burdensome mail voting requirements that may be impossible to implement before the general election and risks disenfranchising eligible voters. With the general election less than 10 weeks away, states must bear the cost of redesigning their mail ballot envelopes with special barcodes for each individual voter and securing USPS review and approval before they can even begin to register mail voters with USPS. Within a matter of weeks and without any additional resources, state election officials must also develop new systems to communicate mail voter lists to USPS to ensure that every eligible voter who is entitled to a mail ballot receives one. In Wisconsin, clerks have already begun preparations to send absentee ballots to voters who have requests on file, making the timing of USPS’s rule especially disruptive.

Even if states were to meet these enormous administrative and financial burdens, the rule could still result in eligible voters not receiving their ballots due to, for instance, administrative errors or flaws in the rushed and untested new procedures.

Over the past several decades, voting by mail has become more popular across the country. In the 2024 general election, more than 1.5 million Wisconsin voters cast their ballots by mail. Since the inception of vote-by-mail, Congress has never exercised its authority to limit it, and in fact, has only taken action to expand and protect mail voting for military and overseas voters. Congress has also never authorized USPS to monitor or control the transmission of mail ballots.

The coalition argues that USPS’s rule violates the Constitution, which makes clear that states have the primary authority to administer elections, and that it upends successful, longstanding vote-by-mail procedures. The lawsuit argues the rule is inconsistent with USPS’s governing statutes, ignores USPS’s procedural requirements, violates the Privacy Act, and is inconsistent with the federal voting rights law. The coalition asks the court to strike down the unlawful rule and issue a temporary restraining order preventing the rule from taking effect while the litigation proceeds.

This USPS rule is the latest attempt by President Trump to exert federal control over elections and seize states’ constitutional authority to administer elections. In April, Wisconsin DOJ joined a coalition of 24 states in suing the Trump Administration to block its unlawful Executive Order that prompted the creation of USPS’s rule.

Joining Wisconsin DOJ in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 

View this press release on the DOJ website.