Appeals court narrows setback for Trump USPS mail-in ballot policy

Key Points:

• A federal appeals court allowed the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to proceed with proposed changes to mail-in ballot delivery procedures despite ongoing legal challenges, halting a lower court order that blocked the USPS from restricting delivery of ballots without eligible voter lists.
• The D.C. Circuit Court panel ruled USPS showed a strong likelihood of success in arguing the rule was not ripe for review and fell outside a prior settlement with the NAACP, and that USPS would suffer irreparable harm if unable to implement the rule before the November midterms.
• The proposed changes stem from a March executive order directing USPS to finalize a rule by August 3 to restrict ballot delivery in states that refuse to provide sensitive voter data to the Trump administration, aimed at ensuring ballots reach the right voters.
• The NAACP sued, claiming the proposal violated a 2021 settlement requiring USPS to prioritize timely election mail delivery, and a district judge previously blocked the order as an unconstitutional federal overreach into state election administration.
• Despite the appeals court ruling, the Trump administration’s executive order remains blocked in nearly two dozen states following a separate federal judge’s decision that the directive infringes on states’ constitutional authority and voter roll protections.