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.