Attorney General Tong Secures Court Order Temporarily Blocking Postal Service’s Unlawful Mail Voting Rule

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08/28/2026

Attorney General Tong Secures Court Order Temporarily Blocking Postal Service's Unlawful Mail Voting Rule

District Court Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order to Block Rule from Taking Effect 

(Hartford, CT) - Attorney General William Tong and a coalition of 24 other states and the District of Columbia have secured a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, temporarily blocking a new rule by the United States Postal Service (USPS) that would have imposed burdensome requirements on vote-by-mail systems ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.

The order blocks USPS from requiring states to obtain the federal government's approval of ballot and return-envelope designs, register for a new USPS portal for tracking voter information, input information for each of their state's voters into the portal, and comply with other provisions.

The court found that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in arguing that USPS did not have the authority to issue the rule in the first place, and that the rule is otherwise unconstitutional. Furthermore, the Court determined that compliance with the rule before the November elections was "practically impossible," and that these requirements created a significant risk of disenfranchisement.

The TRO will remain in place while the Court considers whether to enter a preliminary injunction.

"Donald Trump cannot unlawfully commandeer elections and try to disenfranchise voters just weeks before the November elections. This last-minute attempt to use the USPS to manipulate and micromanage how we vote would have caused chaos and confusion, and court was right to stop it. We will continue fighting to protect voters and our democracy" said Attorney General Tong.

On March 31, President Trump issued an Executive Order attempting to establish a national list of eligible voters and directing the U.S. Postal Service to transmit mail ballots only to voters on the list. On August 21, USPS announced a new rule implementing the President's demands that require states to register every voter who is eligible to vote by mail with USPS and tasking USPS with compiling the registered voters into state-specific lists. The rule also establishes new design requirements for the mail-in ballot envelopes created by states, which states are required to meet and get approved by USPS. Under the rule, USPS will not deliver ballots 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.

On August 26, Attorney General Tong joined a coalition of 25 states in filing a lawsuit to block the unlawful rule. The coalition now seeks a preliminary injunction to stop the rule from taking effect while the lawsuit proceeds and until a final court decision is made.

With the start of the general election season mere weeks away, the coalition argued the rule inflicts significant, irreparable harm on states by imposing burdensome mail voting requirements that risk disenfranchising eligible voters. The coalition argues that USPS's rule upends successful, longstanding vote-by-mail procedures and violates federal statutes and the Constitution, which makes clear that states have the primary authority to administer elections.

Attorney General Tong was joined in filing this lawsuit, which was co-led by the attorneys general of California, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Washington, by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

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Media Contact:

Elizabeth Benton [email protected]

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