Attorney General Phil Weiser joined a multistate coalition of 24 attorneys general in filing a formal comment letter today opposing the U.S. Postal Service’s attempt to aid the president’s efforts to seize control of elections and restrict mail voting through a proposed rule and asking the Postal Service to withdraw the proposed rule.
“This is another unlawful attempt by the Trump administration to seize control of elections that are administered by the states,” said Attorney General Weiser. “Colorado is a national leader in secure, accessible elections, and we won’t stand by while the federal government tries to rewrite the rules and create new barriers for eligible voters.”
On March 31, President Trump signed an executive order attempting to establish a national list of eligible voters and directing USPS, an independent federal agency, to transmit mail ballots only to voters on that list. The order also threatened states and election officials with criminal prosecution and the loss of federal funding if they did not comply.
A federal judge struck down that executive order last week in a lawsuit joined by Attorney General Weiser (PDF), with the order applying to 24 states total. Nevertheless, USPS has not withdrawn its proposed rule to implement the order.
Under the proposal, USPS would create a centralized voter list and refuse to deliver ballots to eligible voters who are not on it, effectively giving the federal government control over mail voting.
In the comment letter, the attorneys general argue the proposed rule violates the federal court’s order and represents an unconstitutional federal power grab. They also argue the proposal conflicts with USPS’s governing statutes and other federal voting laws.
The proposed rule would take effect before the 2026 election, forcing states to overhaul their election procedures and conduct statewide voter education just months before mail voting begins. Those last-minute changes would create confusion, disrupt election administration, and risk disenfranchising eligible voters.
State and federal law protect the right of eligible voters to cast ballots and have them counted. Voters of all political parties, in every state, rely on mail voting, including the president himself. This week’s Supreme Court decision in Watson v. Republican National Committee reaffirmed states’ authority to administer their own elections, including permitting voters to cast ballots by mail.
Colorado has successfully administered elections by mail for more than a decade, giving voters a secure and trusted way to cast their ballots. The proposed rule threatens that proven system.
The formal comment letter was led by the attorneys general of California, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Washington, and joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.