Thursday, October 1, 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 U.S. 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 on Wednesday morning, Aug. 26, 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 percent 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 on Aug. 21, 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 sensitive information, like dates of birth, driver’s license numbers or the last four digits of Social Security numbers.
Courtesy of Washington State Standard
8 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
chrispc2u
The compulsively lying orange Dotard in Chief is trying to rig the election he’s always lied about being rigged because 1) All he knows is cheating, 2) He has the maturity of a 4 year old and hates losing (and he loses often), 3) He has the worst ratings of any ratings of any US president in history and 4) The Republicans who enabled this anti-American, military service member hating, wife cheating, lying, war starting, convicted sexual predator convicted felon, service member wounding and killing, sociopathic Machiavellian nightmare of a human animal scum are facing a blood bath reckoning in the upcoming Machiavellian elections. #Sad
Thursday, August 27 Report this
Southsoundguy
lololol
Friday, August 28 Report this
TheVirtualOne
Hahaha! Some Wild Alaskan Salmon Cakes with White-Bean Salad should help you with your mental health issues.
Friday, August 28 Report this
CobraCommander
The only ones with mental health issues are the people who look at the unprecedented corruption of this man and his cabinet, his lies, his abusive behavior, his obsession with naming things after himself, his inclusion in the Epstein files over 30,000 mentions, his false promises of ending forever wars, his destruction of national monuments and parks, and think 'Yeah, this is the guy for me'.
History is going to look very poorly upon you.
Friday, August 28 Report this
TheVirtualOne
Xi’an Style Spicy Cobra
Ingredients
1 rattlesnake, cut into 2″ (4cm) pieces
1/4 cup (60ml) light soy sauce
1 tablespoon (15ml) sesame oil
2 teaspoons (10g) white sugar
1 tablespoon (10g) cornstarch
2 tablespoons (30ml) oil or lard
1 teaspoon (2g) ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon (1g) ground white pepper
1 pinch whole cumin seeds (optional)
4 scallions, cut into 1″ (2cm) sections
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons (30ml) chili crisp
1 small handful of cilantro, chopped
Saturday, August 29 Report this
Taxpayer
It's ALMOST funny how Attorney General Nick Brown uses federal law only when he wants to but refuses to hand over the voter rolls to the federal government as required by law for legal verification!
Saturday, August 29 Report this
ViaLocal
Get that PEDO out of office!
Monday, August 31 Report this
TheVirtualOne
Good luck with your fruitless journey getting the president out of office. In the history of the country zero U.S. presidents have ever been removed from office by Congress. Three have been impeached only to be acquitted by the Senate. One resigned. Perhaps you should be more introspective and think about channeling your energy toward something useful.
Saturday, September 5 Report this