Washington joins 25-state lawsuit challenging new USPS mail-ballot rule

Washington has joined a 25-state lawsuit seeking to block a final U.S. Postal Service rule that state officials say could force counties to replace more than 5 million ballot envelopes before the November 3, 2026, general election.

Secretary of State Steve Hobbs announced Washington’s participation on August 26, the same day the USPS final rule was published. Attorney General Nick Brown is also joining the legal challenge. The dispute comes less than two months before Washington’s 18-day voting period begins October 16, leaving election offices and the courts a limited window to resolve the rule’s effect.

The states’ lawsuit asks a federal court to halt the rule while they challenge the Postal Service’s authority and the election-administration burdens they say it creates. Those claims remain allegations and requests for relief, not findings that the rule is unlawful.

What Washington says the rule would require

According to Washington election officials, the rule would require states to add voters who will receive federal-election mail ballots to a USPS ballot portal. Officials would submit each voter’s name and mailing address, along with a unique Intelligent Mail barcode for each voter’s outgoing and return ballot envelopes.

The state also says county election offices would have to validate ballot-envelope compliance at post offices before sending ballots to voters. Washington officials estimate that the validation would take less than a minute per envelope under USPS estimates and could consume more than 9.5 years of cumulative processing time for the more than 5 million Washington voters they expect to receive mail ballots.

Washington officials further say counties have already printed more than 5 million envelopes for the November election and would have to destroy and replace them if the rule takes effect in its current form. The envelope count, processing estimate and administrative burden are estimates advanced by the state in support of the lawsuit.

Why the timing matters

Washington automatically mails ballots to registered voters at least 18 days before every election. Voters can return ballots through the mail or by using official drop boxes under the state’s existing system.

The 18-day voting period for the 2026 general election begins October 16, when ballots are mailed and accessible voting units become available at voting centers. The general election is November 3. The Secretary of State’s current guidance says voters must deposit ballots in an official drop box by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

That schedule leaves election offices a limited window to respond if the rule remains in effect or a court orders changes. The immediate dispute is focused primarily on state and county administrative procedures. Washington has not announced a new action that individual voters must take now, so voters should continue following instructions from the Secretary of State and their county elections office.

What the Supreme Court decided August 24

The new lawsuit followed the U.S. Supreme Court’s August 24 procedural ruling in Trump v. California. The Court stayed an earlier injunction that had blocked implementation of provisions connected to the March 31 executive order, including a direction for the Postal Service to begin rulemaking on mail ballots.

The Court said the earlier challenge was premature because it had been filed before the Postal Service issued a final rule. At that stage, the states’ claimed injury depended on future events, including whether a final rule would be issued and what requirements it would contain.

The ruling did not approve the USPS final rule or decide whether it is constitutional. It also did not resolve whether future measures implementing the rule would be lawful. Those questions remain open for later litigation.

What happens next

The federal case will address whether the Postal Service rule can be implemented and whether the states’ objections and requested relief should be granted. The litigation also raises questions about the interaction between federal postal requirements and the states’ authority to administer elections.

For Washington residents, the next important developments are any court order addressing implementation, further filings in the federal case, and instructions from the Secretary of State or county elections offices as October 16 approaches.

Until officials announce otherwise, Washington voters should rely on the state’s existing guidance: keep their registration address current, watch for automatically mailed ballots, use official return methods and deposit ballots in an official drop box by 8 p.m. November 3.

Sources

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