Federal Judge Lifts the Last Block on Trump's Mail-Voting Order, and 25 States Sue the Postal Service the Same Day

A federal judge on Aug. 26 lifted the injunction that had blocked the most contested piece of Trump's March 2026 mail-voting executive order - using the Postal Service as the primary enforcer of mail-voter eligibility - after the Supreme Court ruled on Aug. 24 that the states' challenges were premature. No legal holds now remain on any part of the order, which directs DHS to build a federal citizenship list for the states, tells the Justice Department to target state officials who give ballots to noncitizens, and instructs USPS to impose ballot design and tracking rules.

The sequence leaves the administration free to implement an order that reaches into an area states have historically administered, without any court having yet ruled on whether the order itself is lawful. The Supreme Court's majority said its ruling "does not mean that any measure taken by the government to implement the order will necessarily be lawful."

Twenty-five states sued the Postal Service in federal court in Massachusetts the same day, arguing the finalized rule displaces state election law and violates the Privacy Act. USPS says it "will not play any role in determining voter eligibility, maintaining voter rolls, or counting ballots."