Nine Democratic governors asked the U.S. Postal Service on Thursday to withdraw a proposed rule tied to Donald Trump’s March election order, arguing it should not proceed after a federal judge blocked the directive.
The order told federal agencies to build state-by-state citizenship lists and directed USPS to limit mailed ballots to voters on those lists, a move the governors said could disenfranchise millions and let the agency refuse ballot delivery.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker organized the six-page letter, joined by governors from California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin; USPS did not immediately comment.
The rule was proposed in late May after a judge in a separate case initially declined to block it because the administration had not yet implemented the order; Democratic and civil-rights plaintiffs have appealed that ruling.
Trump’s broader push to tighten election oversight has already faced court setbacks, while studies cited in the report found noncitizen voting is rare and mail-ballot fraud amounted to about 4 cases per 10 million ballots.
Federal courts blocked new mail-in ballot rules. How will states now manage election security and voter access this fall?
Beyond the legal fight, what are the technical hurdles to creating a federal citizenship list for verifying mail-in voters?
Trump’s 2026 Push to Federalize Mail Voting Blocked by Courts: Legal, Political, and Constitutional Showdown
Overview
In 2026, President Donald Trump attempted to increase federal control over election administration, especially mail-in voting, through an executive order and a proposed USPS rule. These actions were quickly challenged in federal court, leading to a nationwide injunction by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, who found the USPS changes violated a previous settlement. The courts’ swift response halted Trump’s efforts, highlighting strong judicial resistance to federalizing elections—a power the Constitution largely reserves for Congress and the states. This legal pushback, supported by state leaders and organizations, reinforced the established framework for election administration and protected voter access.