Attorney General Bonta Co-Leads Opposition to Proposed USPS Rule Creating Centralized Voter List, Restricting Mail Voting

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta today co-led a coalition of 24 attorneys general in filing a comment letter opposing a United States Postal Service (USPS) proposed rule that would facilitate the president's efforts to exert greater control over elections and restrict mail-in voting. The coalition urges USPS to withdraw the proposed rule, which would create a centralized list of voter information and result in eligible voters who are not on that list being denied delivery of their ballots, essentially giving the federal government control over elections conducted by mail.

"Mail-in voting is safe, secure, and essential to ensuring participation in our democracy. It is used by Americans of every party and background, including the President himself," said Attorney General Bonta. "The U.S. Constitution assigns responsibility for administering elections primarily to the states, and the proposed rule would unlawfully shift control to the federal government. We urge USPS to withdraw it and protect access to the ballot box."

On March 31, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order attempting to establish a national list of eligible voters and directing USPS, an independent federal agency, to transmit mail ballots only to those on the list. In the order, the President threatened states and elections officials with criminal prosecution and the loss of federal funding if they do not comply with his demands.

A federal judge struck down that executive order last week in a lawsuit co-led by Attorney General Bonta, with the order applying to 24 states total. On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled in a separate case that the proposed rule violated a settlement between USPS and the NAACP. Nevertheless, USPS has so far not rescinded its proposed rule to implement Trump's illegal executive order.

In the comment letter, the attorneys general argue that:

• The proposed rule violates the federal court's order, which enjoins USPS from finalizing the proposed rule, and amounts to an unconstitutional power grab by the federal government.
• The Constitution does not allow the President to unilaterally impose changes to federal election procedures, particularly without an act of Congress permitting him to do so.
• The proposed rule conflicts with USPS's governing statutes and other federal voting laws.

The proposed rule would enact these unconstitutional changes before the 2026 election. Implementing these changes would require states to upend their existing election administration procedures for upcoming elections and conduct statewide voter education mere months before the beginning of mail voting for the 2026 general election. Such drastic and rapid changes would undoubtedly create confusion, chaos, and distrust in state election systems, threatening to disenfranchise eligible voters.

The comment letter was co-led by Attorney General Bonta and the attorneys general of Massachusetts, Nevada, and Washington. They were joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai'i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.