LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan is back in court against the Trump administration – and this time, the fight is headed straight to the mailbox. Michigan Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Wednesday that she joined 22 other state attorneys general, the District of Columbia attorney general and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro in challenging a new U.S. Postal Service rule governing how mail ballots are delivered in federal elections.
USPS gets an election job
The rule, effective Aug. 21, would require states to give USPS the names and addresses of voters who are to receive mail ballots and sets new standards for ballot envelopes. However, USPS says it will not implement the requirements for the 2026 election unless the federal government obtains relief from existing court injunctions blocking implementation.
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The new U.S. Postal Service rule essentially puts USPS into a verification role before it accepts states’ absentee-ballot mailings for federal elections. States using the mail for absentee voting must submit each participating voter’s name and address, along with unique Intelligent Mail barcodes assigned to that voter’s outgoing and return ballot envelopes, through a new USPS Federal Ballot Mail Portal. USPS stresses that it is not determining who is legally eligible to vote; states remain responsible for deciding which voters are included in their submissions.
Ballot envelopes must also carry the Official Election Mail logo, meet automation standards and undergo USPS design review. When outbound ballots are presented for mailing, USPS employees are directed to verify that the mailing meets those requirements and that the recipients were included in the information submitted through the federal ballot portal. Mailings that fail to comply can be refused and returned to election officials for correction before being resubmitted.
However, while the rule took effect Aug. 21, USPS says it will not implement the new requirements for the 2026 election unless and until the federal government obtains relief from two existing court injunctions blocking implementation. If those injunctions are lifted in time, USPS says it could then begin implementing the rule ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
For and against.
The rule went through a public-comment period after being proposed on June 2, even though USPS says it is legally exempt from the normal Administrative Procedure Act notice-and-comment requirements. The comment period closed July 2, and USPS says it received more than 200,000 responses, plus more than 250 letters from organizations and government officials.
Supporters argued the system would improve ballot tracking, chain of custody, election security and public confidence, while opponents argued USPS lacked the authority to impose the requirements and warned they could create administrative burdens, delays and voter disenfranchisement. Despite those objections, USPS finalized the rule, saying the new requirements would improve visibility of ballots moving through the mail and provide information that could be used by law enforcement.
Election integrity or election interference?
The Trump administration says the changes are aimed at election integrity and ensuring mail ballots go only to eligible voters. Michigan officials see things differently. “The President is scrambling to usurp the electoral process because he is afraid of the outcome this November, but the Constitution is clear: States run elections,” Nessel said, calling the rule an attempt to “sow chaos” and suppress turnout.
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The lawsuit argues that states – not USPS – have primary constitutional authority to administer elections and says the changes come far too close to Election Day. Michigan begins mailing absentee ballots Sept. 19, leaving clerks only weeks to comply with the new system.
The coalition asked for a federal court to block the USPS rule while the lawsuit proceeds – adding yet another Trump administration policy to Michigan’s growing federal court docket. Nessel announced on Thursday that they were granted a Temporary Restraining Order, effectively halting implementation of most of the United States Postal Service newly promulgated mail ballot rule.
And although USPS clearly has broad legal authority to make rules governing what can be mailed and how mail moves through its system, the harder legal question is whether that authority extends far enough to impose these particular requirements on election officials and ballot mail.
