Pro-Voter Coalition Files New Complaint Against Illegal USPS Rule on Mail Voting

WASHINGTON — Today, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF) took another legal action to prevent the United States Postal Service (USPS) from implementing new barriers to mail voting at the behest of an unlawful executive order from the president.

Implementing this new and illegal rule ahead of the midterm elections in November would cause ballot delays, strip Americans of their freedom to vote, and sow confusion among voters.

CLC and DDF are representing the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Arizona Students’ Association (ASA), Secure Families Initiative (SFI), the city of Madison, Wisconsin, and Travis County, Texas, to prevent this new rule from going into effect.

“Key provisions of the president’s second executive order on elections have already been declared unlawful in multiple federal cases,” said Anna Baldwin, director of voting rights litigation at Campaign Legal Center. “But the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent lawless order on the shadow docket has given USPS the green light to attempt to implement their new mail voting rules — mere weeks before mail ballots start to be sent out in some parts of the country. Nothing in the Supreme Court’s procedural order suggests that the rules are lawful. We will not let the president’s dangerous anti-voter agenda go unchecked, so we’re filing a new complaint challenging USPS’s unconstitutional new rulemaking to ensure all voters can cast their ballot in November.”

“The Supreme Court ruled on timing, not on the law. The president’s executive order remains unconstitutional, and the Postal Service cannot launder it into a rule that blocks mail ballots weeks before an election,” said Juan Proaño, CEO of LULAC. “Latino voters, seniors, veterans, and rural families rely on mail voting. We have beaten this order in court before, and we will do it again.”

“We are taking this action to block the administration’s reckless power grab that would likely result in mass confusion, chaos and disenfranchisement of eligible absentee voters. The Constitution could not be clearer that the states — not the president — have the power to run our elections,” said Tianna Mays, legal director at Democracy Defenders Fund. “This rule not only places ordinary postal service employees in the untenable position of determining whether eligible voters may receive and cast mail ballots, it wreaks havoc on state and local election officials and civic engagement groups. If not stopped, our clients, voter advocacy groups and local election officials in two states would be tasked with deciphering, implementing and educating their staff and members about the rule’s requirements, just weeks before Election Day.”

“The Court’s decision is a deeply disheartening setback that disenfranchises voters who deserve easy, reliable access to the ballot. A healthy, thriving democracy relies on full participation, civil engagement, and lowering barriers for every eligible voter — not imposing new hurdles on the very people who form the foundation of our future. To build a stronger nation, we must empower the next generation of leaders to participate civilly and passionately in our democratic process, rather than creating mass confusion for young voters. We will continue breaking down barriers so every student can exercise their fundamental right to vote” said Jessica Mendoza, executive director of Arizona Students’ Association.

“It’s a cruel irony that — at the same time that this administration is deploying troops and their families into harm’s way across the world, in an unconstitutional war of choice — the White House is also actively making it harder for those same military families to cast their ballots back home,” said Sarah Streyder, executive director at Secure Families Initiative. “Nearly half of military voters are people of color, majority are younger than 30 years old, and over 90% of military spouses are women. Those are the Americans this proposed USPS rule would disproportionately disenfranchise.”

“Our elections are administered by local officials who understand the voters and communities we serve. We should not be forced to navigate last-minute federal rules that create confusion, delay ballots, and make it harder for eligible voters to participate. This rule creates unnecessary confusion and puts the burden on voters and local election officials. Travis County will continue doing everything we can to protect voters’ ability to participate in our elections,” said Travis County Clerk Dyana Limon-Mercado.

Background:

On March 31, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order (EO) purporting to impose new requirements for mail-in voting; create a national database of “verified” eligible voters based on faulty information; and direct the United States Postal Service (USPS) to only send mail-in ballots to certain individuals.

After months of litigation and multiple court orders blocking the president’s unlawful EO, one case challenging the order made its way to the Supreme Court. Campaign Legal Center’s President Trevor Potter filed an amicus brief urging the Court not to block a lower court ruling pausing the order from going into effect.

The Supreme Court issued an order on the shadow docket pausing this lower court order on August 24, 2026.

The Supreme Court order stated that its decision to stay — or pause — the lower court’s order was based on the ripeness of the plaintiffs’ claims, not on the merits of whether the president’s executive order was lawful. The lower courts, according to the Supreme Court, acted too soon when they issued orders blocking the enforcement of the president’s executive order.

By pausing this lower court order, the Supreme Court allowed the USPS to issue its final rule on implementing provisions in the president’s executive order.

The new USPS rule is a threat to Americans’ freedom to vote and, if allowed to stand, would inject last-minute chaos and confusion into the midterm elections. In addition to imposing barriers to Americans attempting to register to vote, the new rule will make it harder for jurisdictions like the City of Madison, WI and Travis County, TX to administer elections.

Despite the Supreme Court’s decision that the previous injunctions were entered before the issues in this case were fully ripe, the president’s executive order — which forms the basis for the new USPS rule — remains unlawful under the U.S. Constitution, which gives the authority to set election rules only to the States and Congress.