States Set to Sue to Block Anti-Mail-in Voting Measures by the Trump Administration

Another danger is looming

By: Austin Abbring

August 26, 2026

Twenty-four states and D.C. are set to sue to block the new USPS rules on mail-in voting set by the Trump administration. Just a few days ago, the Supreme Court lifted a lower-court ruling that blocked the Trump administration from accessing voter rolls in an attempt to nationalize elections by overhauling absentee ballot rules. If this ruling were to hold, we would see irreparable damage to our democracy. At least, to the extent that irreparable damage to our democracy has not already occurred. Obviously, there has. 

This coalition of primarily blue states sued over the executive branch’s overreach with the USPS, our election processes, and the clear violations of the Privacy Act and the Constitution. Several state attorneys general have also cited the numerous occasions of Donald Trump posts on social media where he, in all caps, as he is prone to do, explains how we should do away with mail-in voting entirely and that it is a threat to the Republican Party’s existence as a whole. Which is fascinating because Donald Trump earlier this year cast a mail-in ballot in Florida elections, and in the 2024 presidential election, around 1 in every 5 registered Republicans voted by mail. 

As I wrote in my previous post, I think the administration's attempts to overhaul mail-in voting are a distraction at this point, mainly because of the timing. I think it is almost inconceivable that this will continue to hold up - especially as lawsuits continue to pile in. I don't think there is enough time for Trump and DHS to actually implement and organize this before November. Had they attempted this back in January, I think there would have been an obvious, immediate assault on our institutions that would have required full attention. I want to be perfectly clear, though: I am not trying to downplay this at all. This is extremely serious and dangerous to our democracy. In any other normal, semi-functional administration outside of the existence of a Trump era, a president attempting to do this would have news organizations, the electorate, and Congress completely up in arms for weeks or months consecutively - justifiably so. 

Given where we are in the year, with primaries right around the corner, Trump’s health and unpopularity, and the very numerous efforts by this administration to interfere in our elections being shut down by the courts on a consistent basis prior to this, I think the true danger is ICE at or near polling places for intimidation. This would obviously be illegal, but that has not stopped Donald Trump before. This administration wants us to take the bait and for widespread violence to occur so that they can declare a national security emergency and have the midterms shut down. It is imperative that we do not take that bait and that we are prepared. This administration will manufacture anything to prevent a shift in power in Congress. We all saw what happened when Donald Trump lost a free and fair election in 2020 - he attempted to overthrow the United States government.

Well, he, Russel Vought, and other Republicans have had years to formulate a plan to keep these fascists in power this time. Donald Trump has not ruled out any of these measures - ICE at polling stations, declaring national emergencies, or even running for a third term. Despite all of this, and I recognize it is far easier said than done, we cannot be intimidated. It is what they want, and it is how they win. We must turn out and vote like our lives and our democracy depend on it. That is not hyperbolic; it is reality. There is too much at stake to be complacent. We have fought too long and too hard, for better or for worse, for the freedoms we have in this country. We cannot lose it to the most bumbling, idiotic, fragile, and wealthy old white men that we currently have in this Republican administration.