Voting Rights Groups File Renewed Request for Preliminary Injunction to Block Executive Order Restricting Mail-in Ballots

Motion seeks to stop U.S. Postal Service from imposing rules that will disenfranchise American citizens and throw elections into chaos

July 21, 2026 9:30 am

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Mark Sheridan, media@aclum.org

BOSTON – A coalition of nonpartisan voting rights groups renewed their urgent request for a preliminary injunction to block the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from implementing portions of President Trump’s 2026 executive order restricting mail-in voting. Their motion argues that the executive order is unconstitutional, unlawful, and harmful to voters and the organizations that serve them.

The motion filed yesterday is the second time the groups have asked the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts for a preliminary injunction. Their first request was denied earlier this month on the grounds that USPS was already barred from carrying out the executive order due to a preliminary injunction issued in separate litigation in the District of Columbia. However, the District of Massachusetts court expressly said the groups could refile their request for relief if the injunction in the D.C. case was stayed. On July 17, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit stayed that injunction, allowing USPS to move forward in implementing President Trump’s order in some states.

The renewed filing from the nonpartisan groups explains that the executive order is causing significant and ongoing harm to their organizations as they work to help eligible voters, including their members, prepare to cast ballots in the November election. Among other provisions, the executive order directs USPS to refuse to transmit certain voters’ ballots.

The motion was filed by the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, the League of Women Voters, Association of Americans Resident Overseas (AARO), U.S. Vote Foundation, OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates (OCA), and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

They are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), ACLU of Massachusetts, Brennan Center for Justice, Legal Defense Fund (LDF), Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC (Advancing Justice – AAJC), and LatinoJustice PRLDEF.

The plaintiffs and their legal counsel issued the following statement:

“The nonpartisan organizations that filed this challenge work in every state to ensure eligible voters can exercise their rights and responsibilities as U.S. citizens. Millions of those voters rely on mail ballots, including people with disabilities, students, people in rural areas, military service members, Americans living overseas, and the elderly. The threat of the U.S. Postal Service interfering with mail ballots—in violation of its Congressionally established role as a neutral mail carrier—is disrupting vital voting rights work and threatens to disenfranchise untold numbers of American citizens.

“The executive order is plainly unconstitutional and unlawful; it is yet another attempt by the president to unlawfully take control of elections from the states, deter eligible voters from casting ballots, and sow chaos as the November midterms approach. We’re renewing our urgent request for a preliminary injunction to protect the right to vote, uphold the rule of law, and enable voters and voting rights organizations to continue preparing for the midterms with full access to mail voting.”

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Court Case
Jul 13, 2026
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  • Voting Rights

League of Women Voters of Massachusetts v. Trump

On March 31, 2026, President Trump issued a sweeping Executive Order titled "Ensuring Citizen Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections," seeking once again to seize control of election administration from Congress and the states. The Order directs the Department of Homeland Security to compile lists of citizens from federal databases — including Social Security Administration records and immigration data — and transmit those lists to states before every federal election. It then directs USPS to refuse to deliver mail-in or absentee ballots from any voter who does not appear on a federally created enrollment list. It also threatens states with non-delivery of their voters' ballots unless those states submit lists of eligible mail voters to USPS at least 60 days before each election. If implemented, the Order would threaten the ability of millions of eligible citizens to cast their ballots, particularly military members, overseas citizens, the elderly, recently naturalized citizens, and voters with disabilities who rely on mail voting. The Constitution gives Congress and the states — not the President — the power to regulate elections. Despite this, President Trump's March 31, 2026 Executive Order attempts to impose a sweeping new federal regime over mail-in and absentee voting nationwide. This Executive Order is President Trump's second attempt to seize control of federal elections by executive fiat, issued despite injunctions from three separate federal courts blocking a previous 2025 Executive Order on similar grounds. Plaintiffs in this case bring six claims: the Order violates the constitutional separation of powers; it is ultra vires because it commandeers USPS in violation of Congress's postal statutes; it violates the Tenth Amendment and principles of federalism by coercing states to alter their election laws; it unconstitutionally burdens the right to vote; it violates Section 11(a) of the Voting Rights Act by directing USPS to refuse to deliver lawful ballots to eligible voters; and it violates the Privacy Act by requiring the rushed, non-consensual compilation and dissemination of inaccurate personal data about millions of Americans without the required public notice and comment.