WASHINGTON, D.C. — The NAACP and several national civil rights organizations have expanded a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s policies on mail-in voting, arguing that newly issued U.S. Postal Service rules could interfere with state election laws and jeopardize ballots cast by millions of Americans.
The NAACP, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Common Cause and Black Voters Matter filed amended claims Aug. 27 challenging the USPS rule and asking a federal court to block it before the November election.
The organizations contend that the Postal Service lacks legal authority to impose requirements that effectively regulate elections and say the changes could particularly affect voters who depend heavily on absentee and mail ballots, including seniors, rural residents, people with disabilities and military personnel serving overseas.
The groups also argue that Black voters and other voters of color could be disproportionately affected.
“Our democracy is under attack,” NAACP President/CEO Derrick Johnson said. “No federal entity should be allowed to implement last-minute rules that disenfranchise voters and override state election laws.”
Johnson said the organization intends to fight the changes in court to protect access to mail voting.
The latest legal action stems from a lawsuit the coalition initially filed in April challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order concerning mail-in voting. According to the organizations, a federal judge paused that portion of the case because the Postal Service restrictions had not yet taken effect.
With the USPS rule now finalized, the plaintiffs amended their complaint to directly challenge the postal requirements and are seeking immediate court intervention.
Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said the restrictions could create additional obstacles for voters who rely on mail ballots because of work, caregiving responsibilities, disabilities and other circumstances.
“These mail-in ballot restrictions threaten to disenfranchise millions of eligible voters who rely on mail voting to participate in our democracy,” Hewitt said.
The lawsuit comes as mail voting continues to play a significant role in American elections.
According to a study cited by the organizations, absentee voting accounted for approximately 31% of ballots cast in 32 states examined during the 2024 election. The study estimated that nearly two million Black voters, nearly three million Asian voters and more than four million Hispanic voters in those states cast ballots by mail.
Common Cause President/CEO Virginia Kase Solomón accused the administration of improperly using the Postal Service to restrict voting access.
“The Postal Service exists to deliver our mail, not to be weaponized by this administration to silence voters,” Solomón said.
Black Voters Matter co-founders Cliff Albright and LaTosha Brown similarly argued that the changes create unnecessary barriers rather than improving election security.
“Mail-in voting gives people the freedom and flexibility to participate in our democracy,” they said, arguing that the restrictions amount to “creating barriers to the ballot under the guise of election security.”
The amended lawsuit asks the court to prevent the new USPS requirements from taking effect while the broader legal challenge proceeds.
At the center of the dispute is a larger question over the federal government’s authority to impose requirements affecting ballots mailed under election procedures established by individual states.
The civil rights organizations argue that election administration is governed largely by state and federal election law and that the Postal Service cannot independently establish rules that determine whether otherwise eligible ballots are counted.
With the November election approaching, the plaintiffs are asking the court to act before voters begin relying heavily on the mail system to return absentee ballots.
