by Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard
August 26, 2026
SEATTLE — Washington is suing to stop the Trump administration’s latest attempt to restrict mail-in voting, days after the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door for the effort to move forward.
Washington and other states had sued over President Donald Trump’s executive order issued in March on the issue. A lower court blocked its implementation, but an emergency ruling from the high court this week lifted that injunction.
The justices, in a split decision along ideological lines, didn’t weigh in on the constitutionality of Trump’s order, only determining the lower court injunction was premature.
The muddled legal landscape just over two months out from the midterms is stirring confusion as Democrats hope to retake Congress and hold the Trump administration accountable.
The outcome of the court fight is particularly important in Washington, where almost all votes are cast via drop boxes and mail. Washington already requires each voter to sign an attestation that they’re qualified to vote, and a signature verification process ensures each ballot is cast by a registered voter.
Trump’s order, issued in March, would require state election officials to share with the Postal Service a list of mail-in voters. The Postal Service, an independent federal agency, wouldn’t send ballots to voters not included on the lists.
It also sets new conditions for states to send ballots via mail, including envelope design. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, a Democrat, said county election officials would need to replace five million ballot envelopes to comply. States would bear the cost. Hobbs said this would be impossible for return envelopes, forcing voters to use drop boxes, instead of mailing ballots the Postal Service may not deliver.
Attorney General Nick Brown, a Democrat, said in a press conference Wednesday morning that the proposed federal rules accompanying the executive order “will totally upend how our elections are administered.”
Meanwhile, Hobbs’ office is seeing if extra drop boxes can be added. Nearly 70% of ballots in this month’s primary election were returned via drop box.
The Postal Service says if ballots are compliant with the new federal rules, they won’t be intercepted or delayed, and would move through the mailstream as usual.
Washington officials fear the requirements could result in eligible voters not receiving their ballots due to administrative errors or flaws in the unprecedented procedures.
Proponents of the change say it would help improve integrity and trust in elections.
Issued Friday, the U.S. Postal Service said its final rule would take effect immediately, arguing that “delaying the effective date would jeopardize implementation of this rule in time for the 2026 general election.” Election Day is Nov. 3. Ballots are mailed out in mid-October. Absentee ballots will be sent sooner.
Twenty-five states are bringing Wednesday’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts. Brown is co-leading the coalition. The complaint argues the Trump administration’s proposal “effectively eliminates mail voting through its onerous administration requirements.”
The states say the order violates the U.S. Constitution, which gives states the power to run elections. They’re seeking a temporary restraining order from a judge blocking its implementation, and hoping for a court hearing as soon as possible.
“This rule was written to satisfy the president’s continued desire to control our vote, but the United States Constitution is clear: states control elections, not the president,” Brown said.
Washington state lawmakers invited Postal Service officials to discuss the sweeping rule change at a public hearing earlier this year, but the federal officials canceled just hours before the meeting.
The Washington Legislature established vote-by-mail as an option for all elections in 2005. By 2011, 38 of the state’s 39 counties had switched to this system, and the Legislature adopted it as a statewide requirement.
The Trump administration previously sued Washington for its voter rolls, arguing it needed them to confirm noncitizens weren’t registered to vote. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Seattle heard the state’s move to toss the case, but hasn’t issued a ruling yet. Courts have dismissed numerous similar cases across the country.
Hobbs has been willing to hand over public information contained in voter rolls, but not voters’ sensitive information, like dates of birth, driver’s license numbers or the last four digits of Social Security numbers.
Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: [email protected].