Twelve Republican Attorneys General Appeal Mail Voting Restrictions for 2028
The states seek to revive a Postal Service rule that would require voter address lists before ballot delivery.
By Rebecca Svoboda ·
Twelve Republican state attorneys general filed an appeal on Thursday to restart a mail voting rule for the 2028 presidential election.
The group represents Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Texas. They are challenging a September order by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols. His ruling blocks the U.S. Postal Service from using a new plan for federal ballot mail.
The Postal Service released the rule in late August. It would force states to provide lists of voter names and addresses to the agency. The requirement is part of an effort to follow an executive order signed by President Trump. The agency previously tried to use this rule for this year's midterms, but courts blocked it.
Judge Nichols issued a preliminary injunction that covers all federal elections, including the 2028 race. He is a Washington, D.C.-based judge nominated by Trump. In his written decision, he stated that the agency likely lacks the power to impose these conditions on states. "As the Government concedes, the Postal Service could issue (and enforce) the Rule only if Congress gave it the authority to do so, but here no statute grants the Postal Service the power to issue key parts of the Rule," Nichols wrote.
The Justice Department has not confirmed whether it will appeal the decision by the Friday filing deadline. Matthew Tragesser, a DOJ spokesperson, said the department does not comment on ongoing litigation in an email. The Supreme Court previously allowed a similar Boston-based ruling to stand for the 2026 midterms. That order stopped the Postal Service from working on the revised rule for this year's vote only.
Election officials raised alarms about the rule before the midterms. They worried that last-minute changes would disrupt service for tens of millions of mail voters. A whistleblower report stated that the online system needed to comply with the new requirements had not been properly tested. Officials feared eligible voters might not receive their ballots in time, or at all. This risk affected voters with disabilities and those in areas without local polling sites.
Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented from the Supreme Court's decision to let the midterm block stand. Justice Brett Kavanaugh concurred, noting that officials did not have enough time to reasonably implement the rule. He added that there is at least a fair prospect the final rule falls within the Postal Service's statutory authority.
