Twelve Republican Attorneys General Appeal Mail-In Voting Ruling
The group seeks to enforce a U.S. Postal Service rule that would require states to provide voter address lists for ballot delivery.
By Diego Mendoza ·
Twelve Republican state attorneys general have filed an appeal to revive a contested rule governing mail-in voting for federal elections. The legal action challenges a September ruling that blocked the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing new restrictions tied to an executive order from President Trump.
The attorneys general representing Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Texas began the appeal process on Thursday. They are targeting a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols. That order prevents the Postal Service from implementing its plan for all federal elections, including the 2028 presidential race.
The blocked rule, released in late August, would force states to hand over lists of voter names and addresses to the Postal Service for delivery purposes. Nichols, a judge nominated by President Trump based in Washington, D.C., ruled that the agency likely lacks the legal authority to impose this requirement. In his written decision, he noted that the Postal Service could only enforce the rule if Congress had granted it that power, but no current statute provides that authority.
The administration previously attempted to apply these restrictions to the midterm elections that just concluded. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston stopped that effort, and the Supreme Court declined to pause that ruling in September. While the Supreme Court halted implementation for the midterms, Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented. Justice Brett Kavanaugh concurred, stating that state officials did not have enough time to implement the rule reasonably but acknowledged a fair prospect that it falls within statutory authority.
Reaction to the earlier push was mixed among election officials, many of whom feared last-minute changes would disrupt mail voting for millions of voters. A whistleblower report indicated that the online system required for compliance had not been fully tested, raising concerns that some eligible voters might not receive ballots in time.
The Justice Department has not yet confirmed whether it plans to appeal Nichols' ruling by the Friday filing deadline. Spokesman Matthew Tragesser said in an email that the department does not comment on ongoing litigation.
Democratic candidates are set to take over the attorney general offices in Texas and Kansas in January. It remains unclear how long those states will continue to participate in the case under new leadership.
