President Donald Trump secured a temporary legal victory in his effort to strengthen oversight of mail-in voting after a federal appeals court paused a ruling that had blocked a proposed U.S. Postal Service election rule.
A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the Postal Service may continue moving forward with the Trump-backed proposal while litigation proceeds.
The proposed rule would require states to provide the Postal Service with approved absentee voter lists before mail-in ballots are delivered.
However, the administration cannot yet implement the policy because a separate federal judge in Massachusetts issued an injunction last month blocking the rule, and that order remains in effect.
Trump Administration Pushes for Tighter Mail-In Ballot Oversight
The proposal is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to tighten safeguards surrounding mail-in voting.
Republicans have long argued that absentee voting systems require stronger verification measures to ensure ballots are delivered only to eligible voters.
Postmaster General David Steiner defended the proposal during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing last month.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) asked whether the Postal Service would continue delivering ballots if a state refused to provide its absentee voter list.
“Yes or no — if a state refuses to turn their absentee voter list over to the federal government, will the Postal Service still mail their ballots under this proposed rule?” Peters asked.
“Under our proposed regulation, no,” Steiner replied.
“We would tell the state that we need the manifest.”
Court Says Challenge May Be Premature
The legal challenge was brought by the NAACP, which argued the proposal violates a 2021 settlement reached with the Postal Service following litigation over mail delays during the 2020 election.
Under that agreement, the Postal Service committed to “prioritiz[e] . . . the timely delivery of Election Mail” during every national election through 2028.
The D.C. Circuit concluded that the Trump administration is likely to prevail because the lawsuit was filed before the regulation had been finalized.
The judges also found that the proposed rule does not clearly conflict with the 2021 settlement.
In addition, the panel determined that the administration could suffer irreparable harm if it were prevented from completing the rulemaking process before the upcoming midterm elections.
“In this context, ‘there can be no do over’ once the election occurs,” the court wrote.
That observation reflects the administration’s argument that election procedures must be resolved before ballots are mailed rather than after votes have already been cast and certified.
Legal Battle Continues
Democrats and left-leaning advocacy groups have argued the proposal could interfere with mail-in voting and prevent eligible voters from receiving ballots.
The NAACP welcomed the lower court’s earlier decision blocking the rule, contending that the administration was attempting to undermine voting by mail.
The Trump administration has maintained that the proposal is intended to protect election integrity by ensuring ballots are delivered only to verified absentee voters.
The appeals court’s ruling does not end the dispute.
The Massachusetts injunction remains in place, preventing the Postal Service from implementing the regulation while that case proceeds.
If that injunction is eventually lifted, the Postal Service could move closer to enforcing the new requirements even as litigation continues.
The decision nevertheless represents an important procedural victory for the Trump administration as it continues pursuing election reforms ahead of future federal elections.
Mail-in voting became one of the most contentious issues of the 2020 election cycle, and the administration argues additional safeguards are necessary before another national election is conducted under the system.
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