Posted on July 3, 2026
A federal judge has halted a Proposed Rule by the United States Postal Service which would restrict mail-in ballots. The Proposed Rule would require, among other things, that states provide USPS with lists of voters who are eligible to receive mail-in ballots for federal elections. Then, USPS would be required to compare ballots they are sending out to those voter lists and could refuse to accept or deliver ballots that USPS determines do not comply with the new requirements.
The USPS was accepting comments on this issue through today, July 2, 2026. ACB already submitted comments to the USPS through the federal register regarding our opposition to the Proposed Rule and how the Proposed Rule would likely disproportionately impact voters who are blind or have low vision. ACB's comments can be found on our website here: https://www.acb.org/advocacy
The judge has found that the USPS Proposed Rule would violate a current settlement agreement between the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and USPS. In the settlement agreement, which is in effect through the 2028 election, both parties stipulated that USPS agreed to "prioritize monitoring and timely delivery of election mail." The NAACP argued that the Proposed Rule would violate that portion of the settlement agreement. The federal judge found in favor of the NAACP and granted their motion to enforce compliance with the settlement agreement.
The judge's opinion may be found at this link: https://www.citizen.org/wp-content/uploads/opinion.pdf
A news article regarding this matter can be found at this link: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5951135-judge-halts-usps-mailin-ballot/