Appeals Court Lifts Block on USPS Mail-In Ballot Plan in Win for Trump

(Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a stay on Friday, temporarily lifting a lower court’s block on USPS’s mail-in ballot proposal, in a major win for President Donald Trump.

On March 31, Trump issued an executive order, “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” which directs federal agencies to develop state-specific lists of voters who are confirmed U.S. citizens. A provision calls on USPS not to handle mail-in or absentee ballots from individuals, unless they appear on the state-specific, federally approved citizenship lists.

Ahead of the midterm elections, Trump has been feverishly calling on Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship for voter registration, mandate photo identification at the ballot box and heavily restrict mail-in voting.

In response to Trump’s executive order, USPS issued a proposal that would require states to meet certain conditions before USPS could handle the mail ballots. Those conditions include providing USPS with lists of eligible mail-in voters and adopting specific USPS ballot formats and tracking requirements.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) argued the proposal contradicts a 2021 settlement that requires “USPS officials to take ‘extraordinary measures’ to ensure timely delivery of ballots,” according to Reuters.

U.S. ​District Judge Emmet Sullivan issued an injunction that blocked USPS from implementing its proposal.

However, that block is now on a temporary hold as a three-judge panel ruled Friday that the NAACP’s challenge is premature as the “proposed rule is likely neither constitutionally nor prudentially ripe for review,” per the stay. It also notes that delaying the proposal could prevent USPS from issuing and implementing a final rule ahead of November’s midterm elections.

In Feb. 2025, reports surfaced that Trump was planning to absorb the independent USPS into his administration. The reports suggested Trump planned to issue an executive order to place the agency under the control of the Commerce Department. To date, no such executive order has been issued.

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