—
LANSING, Mich. (WJRT) – Michigan has joined a coalition of 25 states in filing a lawsuit against the United States Postal Service over a new rule that directs states to overhaul vote-by-mail procedures.
The lawsuit challenges a USPS rule that the coalition argues grants the postal service authority to regulate mail voting in federal elections. The coalition argues the rule prevents states from effectively administering their mail voting programs and risks disenfranchising eligible voters.
The official complaint filed by dozens of states on Aug. 26, 2026.
U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
“The President is scrambling to usurp the electoral process because he is afraid of the outcome this November, but the Constitution is clear: States run elections,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said.
“This USPS rule is another outrageous attempt to sow chaos, suppress turnout just weeks before the election, and disenfranchise many Michiganders who vote by mail,” Nessel said.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the federal actions represent a direct assault on voting rights.
“I’m proud to join Attorney General Nessel to ensure every citizen’s ballot is cast and counted,” Whitmer said.
The USPS rule stems from an executive order President Donald Trump issued on March 31 attempting to establish a national list of eligible voters. On Aug. 21, USPS announced the new rule implementing the president’s demands, which requires states to enroll every voter eligible to vote by mail with USPS and tasks the postal service with compiling registered voters into state-specific lists.
The rule establishes new design requirements for state mail-in ballot envelopes, which USPS must approve. Under the rule, USPS will not deliver ballots to voters who do not appear on USPS-generated lists and will not deliver ballots in envelopes that fail to comply with the new envelope design standards.
The 25-state coalition argues the rule inflicts significant harm on states by usurping their role in administering elections and imposing burdensome requirements. With the general election season weeks away, states must bear the cost of redesigning their mail ballot envelopes and securing USPS review and approval before mailing out absentee ballots, according to the press release.
Absentee ballots are mailed to Michigan voters beginning on Sept. 19, which gives Michigan clerks less than a month to redesign their entire mail-voting program to meet the new rules. The coalition argues that even if states meet these administrative and financial burdens, the rule could still result in eligible voters not receiving their ballots due to administrative errors or flaws in the rushed procedures.
In the 2024 general election, more than 2.2 million Michiganders voted by mail, accounting for 39% of votes in that election. Michigan amended its state constitution in 2018 to allow for no-reason absentee voting, and registered voters may choose to be placed on a permanent mail ballot list.
The coalition argues that USPS’s rule violates the Constitution, which makes clear that states have the primary authority to administer elections. The lawsuit further argues the rule is inconsistent with USPS’s governing statutes, ignores the postal service’s procedural requirements, violates the Privacy Act and is inconsistent with federal voting rights law.
The coalition asks the court to strike down the rule and issue a temporary restraining order preventing it from taking effect while the litigation proceeds.
Joining Nessel in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as the governor of Pennsylvania.
