Attorney General Clark Joins Multistate Opposition to Postal Service’s Attempt to Undermine Voting Rights

Attorney General Charity Clark joined a coalition of 24 attorneys general in filing a formal comment letter today opposing the Postal Service's attempt to aid the President's efforts to seize control of elections and restrict mail-in voting through a proposed rule and asking the Postal Service to withdraw the proposed rule.

"Mail-in voting enables more Vermonters to exercise their right to vote, and a federal court already has confirmed that the President has no authority to interfere with voting procedures in this way." Attorney General Clark said. "This week's Independence Day holiday reminds us that the right of self-governance is the core of the American ethos. I will continue to fight against President Trump's attempts to place unnecessary barriers in the way of people exercising their rights."

On March 31, President Trump signed an executive order attempting to establish a national list of eligible voters and directing the U.S. Postal Service (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 joined by Attorney General Clark, 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 the USPS and the NAACP. Nevertheless, the USPS has not yet rescinded its proposed rule to implement President Trump's illegal executive order. Under the proposed rule, USPS would create a centralized list of voter information and would refuse to deliver ballots to any eligible voter who is not on that list, essentially giving the federal government control over elections conducted by mail.

In the comment letter, the attorneys general argue that this proposed rule violates the federal court's order, which enjoins the Postal Service from finalizing the proposed rule, and also amounts to an unconstitutional power grab by the federal government. The President cannot unilaterally impose changes to federal election procedures without an act of Congress authorizing him to do so.

The proposed rule would enact these unlawful 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.

State and federal law entitle all eligible voters to cast ballots and have their votes counted in state and federal elections. Voters of all parties, in all states, and of every background utilize mail-in voting-including the President himself . This week's Supreme Court decision in Watson v.Republican National Committee reaffirmed states' authority to administer elections, like permitting voters to cast ballots by mail.

USPS's proposed rule conflicts with Vermont law, which ensures that every registered voter receives a mail-in ballot for a general election. In recent elections, the majority of Vermonters have chosen to cast their ballots by mail rather than in person. If allowed to go into effect, this proposed rule would undermine Vermont's ability to fairly and efficiently administer elections.

Attorney General Clark is joined in submitting the formal comment letter by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai'i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.