A federal court has temporarily blocked the U.S. Postal Service from implementing new rules for handling mail-in ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.
A federal court has temporarily blocked the U.S. Postal Service from implementing new rules for handling mail-in ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.
The temporary restraining order prevents the USPS rule from taking effect while the legal challenge moves forward. Washington joined a coalition of 25 states in filing a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to stop the rule.
Less than 24 hours after the judge's ruling on Thursday, the Trump administration filed a notice of appeal Friday, the latest development in a back-and-forth legal saga.
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said Friday that the court's ruling means there is currently no change to the state's election process.
“This decision provides important relief for Washington voters and election officials,” Hobbs said. “Every eligible voter has the right to cast a ballot, including by mail.”
The Postal Service formally published the new rule Wednesday as part of an effort to implement an executive order President Donald Trump signed in March. The order directed the Postal Service to establish procedures allowing mail ballots to be sent only to voters on federally approved lists.
The USPS rule also created new design requirements for mail ballot envelopes and required states to get those envelopes approved by the Postal Service.
Washington officials argued the changes came too close to the Nov. 3 election to implement.
"That is impossible. We cannot do it," Hobbs told KOMO News. "We have no time left, and it's a $4 to $5 million cost."
According to Hobbs' office, military and overseas ballots must be mailed by Sept. 19, while ballots for other Washington voters will begin going out in about six weeks.
In granting the temporary restraining order, the federal court found the USPS rule violates the Constitution, and that the Postal Service does not have authority under federal law to regulate elections, according to Hobbs' office.
"The Constitution clearly states how each individual state has a right to run their own elections," Hobbs further explained.
The latest ruling comes after a separate legal fight over Trump's executive order reached the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this week.
On Monday, the Supreme Court put on hold a federal judge's June injunction that had blocked portions of Trump's executive order from being enforced in Washington, 22 other states and Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court did not decide whether the executive order itself was lawful, instead finding that the states had challenged the policies before the administration had implemented them.
Two days later, the Postal Service published its rule, prompting Washington and the other states to file their new lawsuit.
For now, Washington voters do not need to do anything differently, but Hobbs is encouraging all voters to use ballot drop boxes to ensure their vote is counted while the legal challenges play out in court.
The temporary pause on the new mail-in ballot rule lasts through Sep. 10. A federal judge is expected to rule on a complete injunction in a hearing on Sep. 3.
