Judge blocks USPS mail-in ballot delivery restrictions

A federal judge has blocked the U.S. Postal Service from implementing new restrictions on mail-in ballot delivery, dealing another legal setback to President Donald Trump’s efforts to reshape election procedures ahead of the November midterms.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan issued the ruling on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, siding with the NAACP. The civil rights group argued that the Postal Service’s proposed rule violated a 2021 legal settlement requiring the agency to prioritize the timely delivery of all election mail through at least 2028. Sullivan found the new plan would breach that agreement by refusing to deliver certain ballots.

The proposed rule, published in May, stemmed from an executive order President Trump signed on March 31. That order directed the Department of Homeland Security to compile lists of confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote in each state. It required the Postal Service to deliver ballots only to voters on state-approved mail-in lists and mandated that ballots use specific envelope designs with individualized barcodes. States that did not provide voter lists or adopt the new procedures risked having their ballots left undelivered.