AG Rayfield Blocks Trump’s Attempt to Restrict Mail Ballot Access

Attorney General Dan Rayfield today secured a victory from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, blocking President Trump's unlawful Executive Order that attempted to interfere with states' constitutional authority to administer elections. The final ruling follows a multistate lawsuit by Attorney General Rayfield and a coalition of 24 states that challenged the Administration's attempt to restrict voting to individuals on lists pre-authorized by the federal government and voting-by-mail to lists maintained by the U.S. Postal Service.

"The President tried to weaponize the Postal Service to control who gets a ballot and the Court said no," said Attorney General Rayfield. "Oregonians support vote-by-mail because they know it is safe, secure, and reliable. Every eligible Oregonian deserves to have their vote counted, and that right doesn't disappear because a president signs an unlawful order."

On March 31, 2026, President Trump signed an Executive Order to develop lists of eligible voters in each state and directing the U.S. Postal Service, an independent federal agency, to develop its own such list and send mail ballots only to those on the list. The Executive Order also threatened states and elections officials with criminal prosecution and the loss of federal funding if they do not comply with his demands. In their lawsuit challenging the unlawful Executive Order, the Attorneys General argued that the Order would require states to violate their own election laws, voter roll procedures, and vote-by-mail systems.

The court's decision declares the challenged sections of the Executive Order to be unconstitutional and beyond the President's authority. The decision blocks the administration from implementing the order for the November 3, 2026, election-and any earlier federal election in the Plaintiff States. The coalition will submit a proposed judgment to the court within the next seven days.

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