Democrats ask court to fast-track bid to block Trump order as first ballots head to voters

Democrats requested a federal court in Washington, D.C., expedite their bid to block President Donald Trump’s anti-mail voting order, citing a new level of urgency as the first ballots in the 2026 general election go out Friday.

“The Ballot Mail Rule presents an immediate, existential threat to mail voting throughout the country,” they wrote.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), Democratic National Committee, Democratic Governors Association, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries* urged the court to make a ruling no later than  Sept. 11.

The parties immediately sued the administration after Trump signed the order in March, blasting his attempt to insert federal agencies into election administration as an unconstitutional power grab. Their first attempt to block the order was denied in May by a Trump-appointed federal judge, who said their challenge came too early as USPS had not taken steps to implement Trump’s demands.

But now, with a finalized USPS rule in hand, Democrats want the court to move quickly – contending the consequences are even worse than originally believed.

“The D.C. Circuit described the President’s efforts to regulate mail voting through the Rule as a ‘substantial and unfunded overhaul of election procedures.’ This is correct, but Defendants’ recent conduct has shown it to be something even worse: a tool for the widespread and stochastic disenfranchisement of Americans who wish to exercise their right to vote by mail,” Democrats wrote in Friday’s filing.

The USPS rule would impose a series of new requirements on states, which would have to redesign ballot envelopes and submit names of authorized mail voters to a federal registry through a new online database that still isn’t live.

If states don’t meet the new standards, USPS said it won’t deliver mail ballots to voters.

Adding additional concern, a federal whistleblower complaint made public this week alleged the USPS’ own internal process to implement these changes has been “rushed” and “haphazard.” As a result, the whistleblower warned, tens of thousands of ballots could be rejected through a single error.

“None of this is remotely legal—thus far, USPS’s best effort to defend the Rule on the merits has been to insist mail ballots are akin to explosive devices and cremated remains. And for every day the Rule remains unenjoined, its very existence will ‘sow confusion and threaten disenfranchisement of many eligible voters,’ as well as ‘create a disincentive for citizens who would otherwise attempt’ to participate in the political system,” Democrats wrote.

*The Elias Law Group (ELG) represents the plaintiffs in this case. ELG Firm Chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.