Twelve Republican Attorneys General Appeal Federal Ruling on Mail Voting Rules
The states are challenging a lower court decision that stopped the U.S. Postal Service from imposing new requirements on state voter lists for the 2028 election.
By Samuel Hayes ·
Twelve Republican state attorneys general began an appeal process on Thursday to revive a U.S. Postal Service plan for mail-in voting restrictions ahead of the 2028 election. The group is challenging a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in September, which stopped the federal agency from implementing its new rules for federal ballot mail.
The coalition includes officials from Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Texas. Their effort seeks to overturn Nichols' decision, which blocks the Postal Service from requiring states to provide lists of voter names and addresses for delivery purposes. This restriction is central to the plan released by the agency in late August.
Judge Nichols, a Washington, D.C.-based judge nominated by President Trump, determined that the Postal Service likely lacks the legal power to impose these requirements on states. In his written order, Nichols noted that the agency could only issue and enforce the rule if Congress had explicitly granted it that authority. He concluded that no current statute provides the Postal Service with the power to issue key components of the plan.
The legal battle follows a similar ruling in September by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston. The Supreme Court refused to pause Talwani's order, which stopped the Postal Service from working on the revised rule for the recent midterm elections. However, that specific order only applied to this year's vote, whereas Nichols' injunction extends to all federal elections, including the 2028 race.
It remains uncertain how long some states will maintain their position in this case, as Democratic candidates won up and down the ballot in the midterms. In Texas and Kansas, Democratic nominees are set to take control of their respective state attorney general's offices in January. This shift in state leadership could impact the continuation of the appeal.
The U.S. Department of Justice has not confirmed whether the Trump administration intends to file a notice of appeal by the Friday deadline. Spokesman Matthew Tragesser stated in an email that the department does not comment on ongoing litigation. A whistleblower report had previously raised concerns that the online system required to follow the new Postal Service requirements had not been properly tested, potentially delaying ballots for eligible voters.
Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented from the Supreme Court's decision to let the midterm block stand. Justice Brett Kavanaugh concurred, writing that state and local officials likely did not have enough time to reasonably implement the rule for this cycle. He added that there is at least a fair prospect the final rule falls within the Postal Service's statutory authority.
