Attorney General Weiser secures court order temporarily blocking Postal Service’s unlawful mail voting rule

Federal judge blocks last-minute requirements that threaten to disrupt Colorado’s mail ballot system ahead of November election

Aug. 28, 2026 (DENVER) – Attorney General Phil Weiser and a coalition of 25 states secured a temporary restraining order blocking a new U.S. Postal Service rule that would have imposed burdensome new requirements on state vote-by-mail systems ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

“The Trump administration is trying to interfere with Colorado’s elections and put up new barriers to voting just weeks before Election Day. We will not allow that to happen,” Attorney General Weiser said. “Colorado’s mail ballot system is secure, accessible, and works. Today’s order now halts an unlawful federal power grab that threatens to create chaos, disrupt our elections, and deny eligible voters their freedom to vote.”

The order blocks USPS from requiring states to obtain the federal government’s approval of ballot and return-envelope designs, register for a new USPS portal for tracking voter information, input information for each of their state’s voters into the portal, and comply with other provisions.

The court found that complying with the rule before the November elections was “practically impossible,” noting that states do not have time to redesign and produce ballots, update election systems, train election officials, and upload voter information to a new federal portal.

Additionally, the court found the requirements created a significant risk of disenfranchisement because USPS provided no deadline for states to submit ballot and envelope designs and no guaranteed turnaround time for approving them. Many states have already ordered ballots, with some required by law to begin sending them to voters as early as next week.

On March 31, President Trump issued an executive order attempting to establish a national list of eligible voters and directing the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to voters on the list. On Aug. 21, USPS announced a rule requiring states to register voters eligible to vote by mail with USPS and comply with new ballot envelope design requirements. Under the rule, USPS would not deliver ballots to voters who do not appear on its lists or ballots in envelopes that fail to meet the new standards.

On Aug. 26, Attorney General Weiser joined a coalition of 25 states in filing a lawsuit to block the rule. The coalition argues the rule imposes burdensome requirements that risk disenfranchising eligible voters, upends longstanding vote-by-mail procedures, and violates federal law and the Constitution, which gives states primary authority to administer elections. The coalition is seeking a preliminary injunction to block the rule while the lawsuit proceeds.

Attorney General Weiser was joined in filing this lawsuit, which was co-led by the attorneys general of California, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Washington, by the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Read the temporary restraining order (PDF).

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Media Contact:
Lawrence Pacheco
Chief Communications Officer
(720) 508-6553 office
lawrence.pacheco@coag.gov