America's elections are getting caught in a fight over the mail
President Trump's push to restrict mail-in voting through the U.S.
Postal Service could allow the federal government to exert control over voting data and state-run elections, voting rights groups say.
Why it matters: The proposed rule could scramble the 2026 midterms by forcing local and state officials to adopt an untested federal system on short notice and potentially undermine confidence in U.S. elections.
The policy would require USPS to review outgoing mail-ballot envelopes for compliance with federal requirements before accepting them.
Election officials would also have to use a new Federal Ballot Mail Portal to submit personal information about voters receiving mail ballots.
What they're saying: "It would be, I think, functionally impossible for some places to comply with these rules," Jonathan Diaz, director of voting advocacy and partnerships at the Campaign Legal Center, tells Axios.
He said the policy could prevent eligible voters from receiving ballots and prove "catastrophic for election administration and for voters." The other side: White House spokesperson Lauren Bis told Axios in an emailed statement that the "real 'chaos' in our elections is sowed by extreme Democrats who refuse to enact basic commonsense measures that ensure Americans, and Americans only, decide our elections." USPS declined to comment because of "pending litigation." Driving the news: The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts filed a motion Saturday seeking to enforce a federal court order blocking USPS from implementing the rules.
That suit is one of several seeking to block the rules from taking effect.
One Massachusetts case blocks both the citizenship-list system and mail-ballot rules in 23 states and D.C.
The administration has asked the Supreme Court to step in.
A third Massachusetts case blocks USPS nationwide from enforcing the mail-ballot rules for Nov.
3.
Voting rights groups say USPS violated that order by finalizing the rules anyway.
Two D.C. cases have gone more favorably for the administration but don't erase the nationwide block.
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