Conservative Group Pushes USPS to Enforce Trump's Mail-In Ballot Restrictions as Legal Battles Intensify

As President Trump's executive order on mail-in voting faces mounting legal challenges from blue states, a conservative legal organization is taking matters into their own hands by directly petitioning the U.S. Postal Service to implement ballot restrictions unilaterally.

America First Legal Takes Action

America First Legal (AFL) has filed a petition with the USPS, obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, urging the postal service to exercise what they claim is its independent authority to impose restrictions on mail-in ballots. The conservative legal group argues that USPS can require barcode tracking on ballot envelopes and cross-check ballot recipients against federally-approved voter registration lists without waiting for the resolution of ongoing lawsuits.

"Federal law gives every interested individual the right to file a petition for rulemaking with federal agencies," stated AFL senior counsel James Rogers. "Our petition gives the Postal Service the authority to implement these common-sense reforms, even in the face of this frivolous litigation against President Trump."

Trump's Executive Order Under Fire

The petition comes as Trump's March executive order, titled "Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections," faces intense legal scrutiny from multiple fronts. The order directs USPS to work with states on mail-ballot procedures tied to state-submitted voter eligibility lists while calling on the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration to help verify citizenship data.

The executive order also mandates the creation of a master list of registered voters, coordinated between DHS, SSA, and states—a move that has triggered immediate pushback from voting rights advocates and Democratic-led states.

Legal Battles Intensify

Voting rights groups have launched multiple lawsuits challenging Trump's executive order, calling it "an extraordinary and abusive assertion of executive power over the administration of federal elections." They argue that the Constitution grants states, not the president, authority over federal election administration.

A coalition of blue states led by California, along with Democratic lawmakers and national Democratic campaign committees, has filed separate lawsuits accusing Trump of attempting to reduce mail-in voting access. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee's lawsuit particularly targets what they see as partisan motivations:

"President Trump has tried again and again to rewrite election rules for his own perceived partisan advantage. If only he could ban mail voting—a favorite scapegoat for his 2020 electoral defeat—and impose other voting restrictions, he has proclaimed, Republicans will 'never lose a race—for 50 years.'"

The Mail-In Voting Expansion Context

Mail-in voting became significantly more prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic as states expanded voters' ability to cast ballots by mail, citing public health emergency concerns. Trump has consistently criticized these policy changes, calling them an effort to "rig" the 2020 election, which he lost to former President Joe Biden.

The current push represents Trump's continued effort to roll back these expansions and implement what his administration frames as election integrity measures.

Broader Election Security Push

The AFL petition is part of a broader Trump administration strategy to tighten election security rules over concerns about ineligible voters casting ballots. Trump and Republicans have focused particularly on noncitizen voting—which is already illegal—arguing it represents a widespread problem requiring additional safeguards.

Beyond the executive order, Trump has been urging Congress to pass the SAVE Act before the 2026 midterms, which would impose physical identification requirements for voter registration. However, the bill currently lacks sufficient Democratic support to advance in the Senate.

Strategic Pressure Campaign

The AFL petition represents a strategic attempt to bypass ongoing litigation by arguing that USPS has independent regulatory authority to implement ballot restrictions regardless of court challenges to the president's executive order. This approach aims to maintain pressure on federal agencies to advance election security measures even as legal battles continue to unfold.

As the 2026 midterm elections approach, this multi-front battle over mail-in voting procedures is likely to intensify, with both sides preparing for protracted legal and political warfare over voting access and election integrity measures.

The outcome of these various legal challenges and administrative pressures will significantly shape how Americans cast their ballots in upcoming elections, making this one of the most consequential voting rights battles in recent memory.