UPDATE: ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL SECURES ORDER TEMPORARILY BLOCKING THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE’S UNLAWFUL MAIL VOTING RULE

UPDATE: ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL SECURES ORDER TEMPORARILY BLOCKING THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE'S UNLAWFUL MAIL VOTING RULE

August 28, 2026

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

Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 25 states, has secured a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, temporarily blocking a new rule by the U.S. Postal Service that would have imposed burdensome requirements on vote-by-mail systems ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

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

"The U.S. Constitution is clear: States have the power to administer elections, not the federal executive branch, and I will continue to fight against this blatantly unconstitutional rule that would only create disorder and undermine confidence in our upcoming general election," Raoul said. "In granting this TRO, the court has acknowledged that states do not have the time to completely overhaul their mail-in ballot procedures to comply with a Postal Service rule we argue is not even constitutional in the first place. This attempt by the Trump administration to interfere with our elections process is part of the administration's efforts to interrupt our citizens' access to voting."

In granting the TRO, the court found that compliance with the rule before the November elections is "practically impossible," noting that states do not have the time to redesign and produce new ballots, update state-administered election systems, train state and local election officials and upload a massive set of voter information to a new federal portal.

The court also found that these requirements create a significant risk of disenfranchisement, particularly because the Postal Service's rule neither provided a deadline to the states for ballot and envelope designs nor guaranteed a turnaround time for the Postal Service's approval of those designs. The court concluded that states face irreparable harm because many had already ordered their ballots, with some states required by state law to begin sending them to voters as early as next week.

Throughout his career, Raoul has successfully fought to protect voting rights in Illinois. While serving in the state senate, he sponsored the Illinois Voting Rights Act, which builds on the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 by codifying antidiscrimination protections into state law. Raoul was also integral in passing a constitutional amendment approved by Illinois voters that added protections into the Illinois Constitution.

Recently, Attorney General Raoul launched an election resource hub on his office's website to help educate voters on their rights. That information will be updated as needed.