Democrat-led states renew challenge to Trump's mail-in voting restrictions

A coalition of Democratic-led states has renewed its legal battle against new US Postal Service (USPS) rules restricting mail-in voting. Attorneys general from 23 states and the District of Columbia, along with Pennsylvania's governor, filed a lawsuit in Boston federal court aiming to block President Donald Trump's executive order before mail-in ballots are sent for the November congressional elections.

This legal challenge follows a Supreme Court decision that lifted an earlier injunction blocking the order. The states had initially sued before USPS finalized the rule, but the postal service released its final rule last Friday. While a separate court order currently blocks USPS from implementing this new rule, the Trump administration is seeking to have it vacated.

The states' lawsuit specifically targets the new rule's requirements for states to provide USPS with lists of voters requesting mail-in ballots and its imposition of new federal standards for ballot envelopes, including unique barcodes. The rule also allows USPS to refuse delivery of ballots that do not comply with its standards or if voters are not on the provided state lists.

New York Attorney General Letitia James stated, "This new policy will just create confusion, unnecessary costs, and unacceptable risks for voters going into Election Day, and my office is going to court to stop it." The Democratic leaders argue that USPS oversteps its authority by establishing federal voting eligibility requirements. They contend the rule conflicts with federal laws designed to protect voters' rights and infringes upon the states' constitutional authority to manage their own elections.

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This new policy will just create confusion, unnecessary costs, and unacceptable risks for voters going into Election Day, and my office is going to court to stop it.