Attorney General Ellison pushes back on Postal Service’s attempt to undermine voting rights

Joins coalition of 24 AGs in filing letter opposing USPS’s attempt to restrict mail-in voting and aid Trump’s unprecedented efforts to seize control of elections, and asking USPS to drop its proposed rule

USPS has still not rescinded proposed rule even after a federal court struck down a similar Trump executive order last week

July 2, 2026 (SAINT PAUL) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison joined a coalition of 24 attorneys general in filing a formal comment letter today opposing the U.S. Postal Service’s attempt to aid President Trump’s unprecedented efforts to seize control of elections by restricting mail-in voting through a proposed rule. Attorney General Ellison and the coalition ask the Postal Service to withdraw the proposed rule.

“Trump’s illegal and unconstitutional efforts to weaponize the federal government, including our independent Postal Service, to rig our elections keep reaching new lows,” Attorney General Ellison said. “I’m against this rule in the strongest possible terms. I will not stand by and allow Trump to harm Minnesota’s elections, which are the best in the country, and disenfranchise eligible Minnesota voters. I will always step up to defend our freedoms and democracy when they are attacked.”

On March 31, President Trump signed an executive order attempting to establish a national list of eligible voters and directing the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), an independent federal agency, to transmit mail ballots only to those on the list. In the order, the President threatened states and elections officials with criminal prosecution and the loss of federal funding if they do not comply with his demands.

On April 3, Attorney General Ellison and another coalition of 24 states sued to block the executive order, and on June 25, a federal court struck it down, with the court’s ruling applying to all 24 states that sued to block it. On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled in a separate case that the proposed rule violated a settlement between the USPS and the NAACP. Nevertheless, the USPS has so far not rescinded its proposed rule to implement Trump’s illegal executive order. Under the proposed rule, USPS would create a centralized list of voter information and would refuse to deliver ballots to any eligible voter who is not on that list, essentially giving the federal government control over elections conducted by mail.

In the comment letter, the attorneys general argue that this proposed rule violates the federal court’s order, which enjoins the Postal Service from finalizing the proposed rule, and also amounts to an unconstitutional power grab by the federal government. The Constitution does not allow the President to unilaterally impose changes to federal election procedures, particularly without an act of Congress permitting him to do so. The attorneys general also argue the proposed rule conflicts with USPS’s governing statutes and other federal voting laws. 

The proposed rule would enact these unconstitutional changes before the 2026 election. Implementing these changes would require states to upend their existing election administration procedures for upcoming elections and conduct statewide voter education mere months before the beginning of mail voting for the 2026 general election. Such drastic and rapid changes would undoubtedly create confusion, chaos, and distrust in state election systems, threatening to disenfranchise eligible voters.

State and federal law entitle all eligible voters to cast ballots and have their votes counted in state and federal elections. Voters of all parties, in all states, and of every background utilize mail-in voting — including the President himself. This week’s Supreme Court decision in Watson v. Republican National Committee reaffirmed states’ authority to administer their elections, like permitting voters to cast ballots by mail.

Joining Attorney General Ellison in filing the formal comment letter are the attorneys general of California, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Washington, who led the coalition, and the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.