Attorney General Ford Leads Multistate Opposition to Postal Service’s Attempt to Undermine Voting Rights

Attorney General Ford and Secretary of State Aguilar Release Statements on the Ongoing Fight for Voting Rights

Carson City, NV - Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford and Nevada Secretary of State Francisco V. Aguilar announced that Attorney General Ford is co-leading a multistate coalition of 24 attorneys general in filing a formal comment letter opposing the United States Postal Service's (USPS) attempt to aid the president's efforts to seize control of elections and restrict mail-in voting through a proposed rule. Attorney General Ford and the coalition are asking USPS to withdraw the proposed rule.

"We have won the legal fight against President Trump's unlawful attempt to interfere with state sovereignty in elections and disenfranchise voters," said Attorney General Ford. "The USPS must comply with this legal order and rescind its proposed rule so that all voters are ensured they will be able to participate in our democracy. I will stand against any effort to illegally interfere with Nevadans' ability to take part in our elections because our citizens' right to have their voice heard is sacred in our great country."

"This proposal will impact the future of our elections, disrupt the midterms and take authority from local election officials. It threatens the constitutional right of states to run elections, and will create chaos for millions of voters who rely on mail ballots," said Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar. "It makes no sense for the USPS to continue considering these proposed rules for an executive order that the courts have already deemed unconstitutional. The president wants to take control of our elections and decide who can vote and who cannot, and the USPS cannot go along with it."

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 those on the list. In the order, the president threatened states and elections officials with criminal prosecution and the loss of federal funding if they do not comply with his demands.

A federal judge struck down that executive order last week in a lawsuit joined by Attorney General Ford, with the order applying to 24 states total. On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled in a separate case that the proposed rule violated a settlement between the USPS and the NAACP. Nevertheless, the USPS has so far not rescinded its proposed rule to implement Trump's illegal executive order. Under the proposed rule, USPS would create a centralized list of voter information and would refuse to deliver ballots to any eligible voter who is not on that list, essentially giving the federal government control over elections conducted by mail.

In the comment letter, the attorneys general argue that this proposed rule violates the federal court's order, which enjoins USPS from finalizing the proposed rule, and also amounts to an unconstitutional power grab by the federal government. The Constitution does not allow the president to unilaterally impose changes to federal election procedures, particularly without an act of Congress permitting him to do so. The attorneys general also argue the proposed rule conflicts with USPS's governing statutes and other federal voting laws.

The proposed rule would enact these unconstitutional changes before the 2026 election. Implementing these changes would require states to upend their existing election administration procedures for upcoming elections and conduct statewide voter education mere months before the beginning of mail voting for the 2026 general election. Such drastic and rapid changes would undoubtedly create confusion, chaos and distrust in state election systems, threatening to disenfranchise eligible voters.

State and federal law entitle all eligible voters to cast ballots and have their votes counted in state and federal elections. Voters of all parties, in all states, and of every background utilize mail-in voting - including the president himself. This week's Supreme Court decision in Watson v. Republican National Committee reaffirmed states' authority to administer their elections, like permitting voters to cast ballots by mail.

Attorney General Ford is joined by in leading the comment letter 's submission by the attorneys general of California, Massachusetts and Washington, as well as the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.

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