Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown is leading a coalition of 24 attorneys general urging the U.S. Postal Service to abandon a proposed rule they say would undermine states’ authority over elections and threaten mail-in voting ahead of the 2026 general election.
In a formal comment letter submitted Thursday, Brown and attorneys general from 23 other states argued the proposal is unconstitutional and should be withdrawn after a federal court blocked key portions of President Donald Trump’s executive order that prompted the rulemaking.
“The Constitution is clear: states control elections, not the President. This proposed rule is illegal and dangerous,” Brown said. “We will continue to protect the rights of eligible Washington voters to have their voices heard in our democracy.”
The Postal Service proposal stems from an executive order signed by Trump on March 31 directing the independent federal agency to establish a national system for handling mail ballots. Under the proposal, USPS would create a centralized list of voters eligible to receive mail ballots and refuse to deliver ballots to voters not included in that database, according to the attorneys general.
The coalition argues the proposal would effectively give the federal government authority over elections traditionally administered by the states, violating both the U.S. Constitution and federal election law.
The filing comes just days after a federal judge in Massachusetts ruled that key portions of Trump’s executive order exceeded presidential authority and blocked the administration from implementing them in the plaintiff states, including Washington. The court found that the Constitution gives states primary responsibility for administering elections and that the President lacks authority to unilaterally impose new election procedures.
Despite that ruling, the attorneys general contend the Postal Service has continued moving forward with the proposed regulation.
In their filing, the coalition argues the proposal conflicts with the Constitution, federal postal law, the Help America Vote Act, the Voting Rights Act and the Privacy Act. They also say implementing the changes only months before the November 2026 election would force states to overhaul election procedures, redesign ballot envelopes, update voter education campaigns and make costly administrative changes during an active election cycle.
The attorneys general also argue the proposal lacks evidence that it would improve election security while creating unnecessary barriers for eligible voters who cast ballots by mail.
Washington has conducted elections entirely by mail for more than a decade. State leaders have consistently defended the system as secure, accessible and popular with voters.
Brown noted that the U.S. Supreme Court recently reaffirmed states’ authority to administer elections, including voting by mail, while federal courts have repeatedly rejected attempts by the Trump administration to impose federal control over state election systems.
The latest filing follows another legal victory for Brown last month, when the same federal court blocked enforcement of Trump’s executive order that sought to create federally controlled voter eligibility lists and restrict mail voting. The court also prohibited the Postal Service from refusing to deliver mail ballots in the plaintiff states based on the executive order.
Brown co-led the latest filing with the attorneys general of California, Massachusetts and Nevada. Attorneys general from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland,
Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin also joined the comment letter.
