Washington state has filed a new lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Service to block the Trump administration’s attempts to make sweeping changes to mail voting ahead of the general election in November.
The Postal Service this month announced new requirements for mail-in ballots as a result of an executive order from the president in March. The changes, part of President Donald Trump’s effort to crack down on what he claims is widespread voter fraud by noncitizens, would require states to turn over voter rolls to the federal government before ballots are mailed out.
State officials have warned the changes could upend Washington’s elections, where over 5 million people vote by mail.
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown announced Wednesday that the state would sue in federal court, along with 24 other states, to block these changes to mail voting. The suit, filed in Massachusetts, argues that the Postal Service’s new requirements are unconstitutional.
“The United States Constitution is clear. States control elections, not the president. States control the time, the place, and the manner of elections,” Brown said. “The president and the Postal Service have no role, no authority to decide how we vote, when we vote, or who we vote for.”
This new suit comes on the heels of weeks of legal back-and-forth over mail voting changes. On Monday, the Supreme Court weighed in, ruling that a lower court’s temporary pause on voting restrictions was premature. The ruling did not weigh in on the legality of the new requirements, however. A separate lower court block on the Postal Service’s new rules is still in place.
Brown and Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said they hope their new lawsuit will provide the state with greater protections.
Hobbs said that changing Washington’s mail-in ballot system would be chaotic.
“In three months, we have our election,” Hobbs said. “In six weeks, we mail our ballots. In less than three weeks, we mail to our overseas voters, most of whom are uniformed service members protecting our democracy.”
He added that, if the new lawsuit is unsuccessful, the state still has a plan. Hobbs urged voters to use ballot drop boxes instead of mailing their ballot in the event that the Postal Service’s changes go into effect before November. About 70% of Washington voters in the past primary election used ballot drop boxes.
He also said the state will work with counties to set up extra drop boxes, if the Postal Service changes move forward.
Hobbs said that Washington would provide public voter rolls if required by the federal government, but it would not release private information, like a person’s full birth date or driver’s license number.
Rep. Jim Walsh, chair of the Washington State GOP and a prominent critic of mail voting, said he’s long been concerned about voter fraud and he believes the Postal Service’s rules will strengthen ballot security.
“Ultimately the best way to improve election security, given our current system in Washington state, is to do a better job of updating our voter databases and making sure that people who’ve moved away and people who are not legal voters are removed from those voter lists,” Walsh said.
