The NAACP is asking a federal court to stop the U.S. Postal Service from adopting a rule that could keep some mail-in ballots from ever reaching voters. On Wednesday, June 4, the civil rights group, its Legal Defense Fund, and the Public Citizen Litigation Group filed a motion in federal court to enforce a settlement in which USPS already agreed to prioritize the timely delivery of election mail, according to a Black Star News account written by Public Citizen, one of the groups behind the filing.
In December 2021, LDF and Public Citizen announced a settlement in NAACP v. United States Postal Service, a case that challenged USPS handling that risked slowing mail-in ballots for the November 2020 election. Under that deal, USPS committed to prioritizing the timely delivery of election mail for national general elections through 2028, and to delivering ballots to all voters without exception.
As directed by an executive order President Trump issued on March 31, USPS published a proposed rule on June 2 that would create a new gatekeeping step: USPS could refuse to deliver mail-in ballots if state or local election officials do not hand over certain information, or do not use a specific envelope design. The motion argues the rule violates both the 2021 settlement and federal law, and it asks the court to block USPS from moving forward.
USPS itself has said that handling election mail properly takes extensive internal training and months of coordination with state and local election officials, coordination the filing says began well before the proposed rule appeared. Changing the rules halfway through an election year, the groups argue, would inject confusion into the 2026 season and risk disenfranchising eligible voters. Because of that, the motion asks the court to rule on an expedited basis.
“This all is part of a coordinated effort by this Administration to create chaos and confusion in our elections, which creates particular dangers for Black voters who are already at the greatest risk of suffering discrimination in voting,” said Sam Spital, associate director-counsel of the Legal Defense Fund. He added that the parties are “confident it will be rejected by the courts.”
Allison Zieve, director of Public Citizen Litigation Group, said, “That this Administration would direct USPS to adopt measures to impede voters from casting their ballots is shameful. And that USPS would allow itself to be used for political purposes to advance the President’s irrational objection to mail-in voting is disgraceful, unlawful, and contrary to the commitments it made to settle our litigation.”
Anthony P. Ashton, senior associate general counsel for the NAACP, said, “These proposed rules directly undermine commitments that the Postal Service made to ensure mail-in ballots are delivered and counted. The NAACP will continue to take decisive legal action to ensure that every eligible voter can cast their ballot and have it counted.”
