On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a temporary order allowing the Postal Service to move forward with a proposed rule requiring states to verify voter registration data before mailing federal election ballots. A three-judge panel, ruling per curiam, granted USPS’s request to stay a district court injunction that had blocked the rule earlier this month in a lawsuit brought by the NAACP.
The panel decided the challenge was premature since the rule remains in proposed form, and it found the measure unlikely to violate the 2021 agreement obligating USPS to prioritize timely delivery of election mail through 2028.
The D.C. Circuit granted a stay pending appeal, ruling that the appellants had met the “stringent requirements” required to pause the lower court’s order while the case proceeds. In its order, the court wrote that the appellants “have made a strong showing that they will likely succeed on two of their arguments.”
The rule traces back to Executive Order 14399, signed March 31, 2026, which directed federal agencies to compile and share state-by-state “citizenship lists” of eligible U.S. citizens using federal databases, to help states verify that only citizens vote in federal elections. It instructs the U.S. Postal Service to tighten rules and tracking for mail-in and absentee ballots, including rejecting ballots from people who are not on these federal-state eligibility lists or otherwise properly enrolled for mail voting. It also directs the Department of Justice to prioritize enforcement of federal election laws against officials who provide ballots to ineligible voters and to use the threat of withholding federal election funds to pressure states to comply with these new verification measures.