New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport has joined a coalition of 25 states in suing to block new U.S. Postal Service rules that would require states to provide voter lists to the agency and obtain federal approval for mail-ballot envelope designs.
The coalition argues that the Postal Service lacks the authority to regulate elections and that the new requirements could prevent eligible voters from receiving mail-in ballots in this year’s midterm elections.
“Under our Constitution, states run elections—not the federal government, and definitely not the postal service,” said Davenport. “The USPS’s new rule purports to restrict mail-in voting by implementing new and convoluted postal procedures with just weeks to go before election officials begin sending out mail-in ballots. We are confident the courts will block this latest unconstitutional attempt by the Trump Administration to interfere with the states’ administration of free and fair elections.”
The lawsuit asks a federal court to invalidate the rule and issue a temporary restraining order blocking it from taking effect while the case proceeds.
The Postal Service finalized the rule on August 21, three days before the U.S. Supreme Court stayed a lower court order that had prevented the agency from completing the rulemaking process.
Under the new system, states would be required to register every voter eligible to vote by mail with the Postal Service and work with the agency to compile state-specific voter lists. USPS would refuse to deliver ballots to voters who do not appear on those lists.
States would also need to redesign mail-ballot envelopes to meet new federal standards and secure Postal Service approval before registering mail voters with the agency. Ballots mailed in envelopes that do not comply with those standards would not be delivered.
Davenport and the other plaintiffs say the requirements would force election officials to build new data-sharing systems, retrain workers, rewrite guidance, educate voters and redesign ballot materials only weeks before states begin mailing ballots.
Even if election officials could complete those tasks on time, the coalition maintains that voters could still be disenfranchised because of administrative mistakes or flaws in rushed, untested procedures.
The dispute stems from an executive order President Donald Trump issued in March seeking to create a national list of eligible voters. The order also directed the Postal Service to develop rules allowing it to refuse delivery of ballot mail to voters who were not included on a USPS-maintained list and to establish new design and tracking requirements.
A federal court blocked major portions of the executive order in June after a multistate coalition filed suit, concluding that key provisions were unconstitutional. That order barred the Postal Service from completing its rulemaking, but the Supreme Court stayed the ruling on August 24.
The states argue that Congress has never authorized the Postal Service to monitor or control the transmission of mail ballots. They note that Congress has expanded and protected absentee voting for members of the military and Americans living overseas but has not given USPS regulatory power over state election systems.
The lawsuit alleges that the rule violates the Constitution’s allocation of election authority to the states, conflicts with laws governing the Postal Service, disregards required administrative procedures, and violates the Privacy Act and federal voting-rights protections.
Mail voting has become an increasingly significant part of New Jersey elections. More than 840,000 New Jersey voters cast mail-in ballots in the 2024 general election, accounting for 19.5% of all ballots cast statewide.
Atlantic County Clerk Joe Giralo said his office will continue processing vote-by-mail ballots under New Jersey law, with ballots scheduled to begin going out on September 19.
“The State is currently in litigation with the federal government, and at this time no one knows what the outcome will be,” said Giralo. “Please know that our office has been working for several months to prepare for the November general election cycle.”
California, Massachusetts, Nevada and Washington are co-leading the lawsuit. New Jersey is joined by Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia, along with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
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