The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit denied the Trump Administration’s request to pause a federal court order blocking changes to U.S. Postal Service procedures for mail ballots. The preliminary injunction keeps the changes from taking effect through the approaching November midterm elections while a lawsuit brought by 24 attorneys general and the Governor of Pennsylvania proceeds.
The disputed changes were mandated by President Trump’s second elections-related Executive Order. According to California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office, they would require state and local election officials to redesign and reprint ballot envelopes, enroll millions of voters in a new USPS system, and meet requirements under which USPS could refuse to deliver noncompliant mail ballots.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted the coalition’s request for a preliminary injunction last week after previously issuing a temporary restraining order. The Trump Administration appealed and asked the First Circuit to allow the USPS changes to take effect during the litigation, but the appeals court denied that request on September 10.
The coalition cited implementation concerns in opposing a stay. It filed a recent whistleblower report with the district court and referenced it before the First Circuit; the report warned of “potentially catastrophic problems” and described the administration’s effort as “sloppy and rushed.” A separate USPS court filing acknowledged that the technology needed to implement the rule was not yet available.
Election officials from Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah—states outside the coalition—also argued that the rule could not be responsibly implemented for the November midterm elections. The legal challenge began August 26 and is co-led by Bonta, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, and Washington Attorney General Nick Brown.
The other participating attorneys general represent 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. The Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania also joined the lawsuit.