23 States Want to Block Trump’s Executive Order That Would Ban USPS from Mailing Ballots to Voters Not on State Mailed Lists.

The order at the center of the case is entitled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in State Elections.” President Trump signed it on March 31, 2026. It directs the Postmaster General to begin rulemaking to set uniform federal standards for how absentee ballots are handled by the US Postal Service.

The provision that is drawing the most legal attention is that the Postal Service will not send incoming or absentee ballots from individuals unless those individuals are registered on a government-focused “email and absentee participation list.” Under the order, it says it intends to allow USPS ballots to be forwarded if the USPS will notify the Postal Service at least 90 days before the state election. The order also calls for ballot envelopes with unique identifiers, coordination with the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration’s “State Citizen List” of verified citizens, and directs the Department of Justice to prioritize investigative ballots given to ineligible voters. The order does not specifically prohibit walk-in voting by mail. The Postal Service released proposed rules to implement it around May 29.

The administration’s stated rationale is to verify citizenship, prevent non-citizens from voting by mail, secure voting processes with traceable identifiers, and maintain public confidence in elections. The order includes this as an officer’s duty under Article II to enforce the existing federal election and mail fraud laws.

A coalition of 23 Democratic-led states, along with the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, sued in early April. The case is being led jointly by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, with Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford and Washington Attorney General Nick Brown. A similar lawsuit was filed by voting rights groups including the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, the ACLU, and the Brennan Center. The plaintiffs argue that the order exceeds the president’s authority under the Elections Clause, which gives election laws to the states and Congress instead of the president. They also say it illegally turns the independent Postal Service into what they call “the arbiter of who can vote by mail,” and that it risks excluding eligible voters, including military and overseas voters, seniors, people with disabilities, and new-born citizens. They are asking the court to block it forever.

The two sides also disagree on the extent of the problem. Administrators stress the dangers of non-citizen postal voting. Plaintiffs, along with many election experts, say the lawsuits filed are rare and that the order poses a serious risk of keeping eligible voters from voting.

The case is being heard in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts before Judge Indira Talwani. The states decided on summary judgment in late April. The court previously refused to block parts of the order, calling that request premature before the agencies could act. Arguments on the preliminary injunction targeting the USPS provisions were heard around June 2. No final decision has been issued, and further appeals are highly anticipated.