New Lawsuit Filed Just After USPS Publishes Final Rule
The New York Attorney General’s Office announced on August 26, 2026, that Attorney General Letitia James had joined 23 other attorneys general and the governor of Pennsylvania in a lawsuit seeking to block USPS’s new mail-voting rule. The complaint identifies the case as State of California et al. v. United States Postal Service et al., case number 1:26-cv-13917.
The complaint caption lists California and several other states, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as plaintiffs. Accordingly, the phrase “25 states” used in some reports should be reviewed against the plaintiff composition stated in the original complaint.
The key change is that this is a new lawsuit directly targeting the final mail-voting rule published by USPS, rather than the executive order itself.
How the USPS Rule Would Change Mail-Voting Standards
According to the Federal Register, USPS published the final rule Ballot Mail for Federal Elections on August 26, 2026. The document number is 2026-17238, the Federal Register citation is 91 FR 54966, and the stated effective date is August 21, 2026.
The rule revises standards for sending ballots by mail or absentee ballot in federal elections. Its main provisions include requiring states to provide USPS with lists of mail-voting voters and to follow standards for preparing federal election mail envelopes.
In the final rule, USPS explained that an immediate effective date was necessary ahead of the November 3, 2026, general election. At the same time, it stated that it would not implement the rule for the 2026 election before obtaining relief from the existing injunction.
Legal Arguments Raised by the States
The plaintiffs argue that the new rule displaces the states’ authority to administer elections and exceeds USPS’s statutory authority. The complaint also alleges conflicts with privacy law and federal voting-rights statutes.
CBS reported that the lawsuit was filed in federal court in Massachusetts and that the states argue the new rule could interfere with the operation of mail-voting programs for the midterm elections and risk depriving mail voters of their rights. A Reuters-republished report said the states are seeking to prevent USPS from imposing the new requirements before ballots are sent.
Relationship to the Supreme Court Decision
The Associated Press reported on August 26, 2026, that Judge Indira Talwani agreed to lift an order preventing USPS from carrying out Trump’s executive order, while Democratic-led states filed a new lawsuit at the same time.
AP also reported that, in a separate case two days earlier, the Supreme Court found that the states’ initial lawsuit was premature, but did not decide the legality of Trump’s executive order itself. Therefore, the filing of this new lawsuit alone does not establish the final legality of either the executive order or the USPS rule.
Confirmed Facts
- The USPS final rule revises standards for sending mail ballots in federal elections.
- The state plaintiffs challenge the rule’s operational requirements, including providing voter lists and standards for mail envelopes.
- The case name and number are confirmed in the original complaint.
- The Supreme Court’s earlier ruling was reported as a procedural decision, not a final ruling on the constitutionality of the executive order.