Appeals court narrows setback for Trump USPS mail policy
A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday stayed a lower-court block on a U.S. Postal Service proposal that would tie mail ballot delivery to state voter lists. The temporary win for the Trump administration does not lift a separate Massachusetts injunction, so the mail rule remains stalled for now.
Key Takeaways
- A unanimous D.C. Circuit panel paused Judge Emmet Sullivan’s injunction against the USPS mail ballot proposal.
- Judges said the NAACP challenge looks premature and likely outside a 2021 settlement.
- A separate Boston injunction still blocks the policy in nearly two dozen states.
- Postmaster General David Steiner said USPS would not mail ballots without state voter “manifests.”
- Colorado officials warn an “administrative nightmare” if mail ballots are disrupted before November.
What did the appeals court decide about mail ballots?
On Friday, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously put on hold a lower-court order that had blocked the Postal Service from advancing its proposed mail-in ballot restrictions. According to ABC News, the court found the Trump administration is likely to succeed because the lawsuit is premature—the rule is not yet finalized—and because the proposal is likely not covered by a 2021 NAACP–USPS settlement.
The panel also said USPS showed it would suffer irreparable harm if it cannot finalize and implement the rule before the midterms. “In this context, ‘there can be no do over’ once the election occurs,” the ruling said. Coverage in Future Tech & AI Wonders will keep tracking how postal and election systems collide ahead of November.
Why does the mail rule still face major hurdles?
The appeals court win is temporary and narrow. A separate Massachusetts judge blocked the policy last month, and that injunction still stands—leaving Trump’s executive order blocked in nearly two dozen states, The Hill reported. Until that barrier falls, the administration does not have a green light to put the mail rule into effect.
The proposal stems from a March executive order directing USPS to change how it handles election mail. States would need to notify the Postal Service and submit lists of voters planning to vote by mail. Ballot envelopes would need unique barcodes. Steiner told senators that if a state refuses to turn over its absentee voter list, USPS would not mail those ballots under the proposed regulation.
How could the mail policy affect states like Colorado?
Colorado is a universal mail-in ballot state. In the 2024 general election, just over 92% of Colorado voters returned a ballot they received in the mail, Colorado Newsline reported. Election advocates there call a USPS refusal to deliver ballots an “administrative nightmare” that could confuse voters who expect ballots and never get them.
Secretary of State Jena Griswold has argued that states—not the president—run elections, and that courts have already enjoined major portions of the order. Jefferson County Clerk Amanda Gonzalez said the rule would introduce barriers while solving an “imaginary” problem. For now, the D.C. Circuit stay keeps rulemaking alive in one case, but the Massachusetts block means the fight over mail ballots is far from settled before the 2026 midterms.