BOSTON — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit denied the Trump Administration’s request to stay a federal court order blocking U.S. Postal Service mail voting changes. The preliminary injunction blocks the U.S. Postal Service changes through the November midterm elections.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta co-led a coalition of 24 attorneys general and the Governor of Pennsylvania in the legal challenge. The lawsuit was filed on August 26, co-led by attorneys general from California, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Washington.

The blocked changes would require state and local election officials to redesign and reprint ballot envelopes. The USPS voting rule would require changes to ballots and envelopes for 10,000 different state and local elections.

The blocked changes would require enrolling millions of voters in a new U.S. Postal Service system. The blocked changes include requirements that would allow the U.S. Postal Service to refuse to deliver mail ballots that do not comply.

The U.S. Postal Service admitted in a court filing that the technology to implement the rule is not available. A whistleblower report warned of potentially catastrophic problems with the U.S. Postal Service implementation efforts.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted the coalition’s request for a preliminary injunction after previously granting a temporary restraining order. Chief election officials from Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah argued that the U.S. Postal Service rule cannot be responsibly implemented for the November midterm elections.

"The First Circuit has once again rejected the Trump Administration’s latest attempt to disrupt mail voting," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said. "The changes at issue could disenfranchise millions of voters, especially given how little time there is to implement them."

Why It Matters

The ruling preserves the status quo for mail voting procedures during the upcoming midterm elections. Nearly 30% of voters cast a mail ballot in the 2024 election, according to reports.

The decision affects the ability of state and local jurisdictions to implement new federal requirements on short notice. The coalition included attorneys general from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Timeline

On August 26, 2020, Whistleblower 21276-13W v. Commissioner was filed in the United States Tax Court. On August 26, 2026, the Postal Service published a rule titled "Ballot Mail for Federal Elections." Also on August 26, 2026, the lawsuit was filed, co-led by attorneys general from California, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Washington.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated that the First Circuit has once again rejected the Trump Administration’s latest attempt to disrupt mail voting. He also remarked that President Trump has repeatedly voted by mail himself and does not get to decide that mail voting is good enough for him but not for other Americans.

What's New

Additional reporting confirms that the Postal Service published a rule titled "Ballot Mail for Federal Elections" on August 26, 2026. The Trump Administration consists of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States under the Trump Administration.

The rule, finalized on August 26 in response to an executive order Trump signed in March, requires state and local election officials to submit voters' names and addresses to USPS through a portal that is not yet available. The First Circuit is a federal appellate court. Nearly 30% of voters cast a mail ballot in the 2024 election.