Democratic states file new lawsuit seeking to block Trump’s order limiting mail voting in midterms

Democratic-controlled states on Wednesday filed another lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to limit mail voting in this year's midterm elections.

The action, filed by about two dozen states against the U.S. Postal Service, marked a new phase in the high-stakes litigation just two days after the Supreme Court ruled against them in a separate case, but did not say Trump’s order was legal.

The high court majority found the Democratic lawsuit was premature, but that was before the Republican administration issued a rule governing U.S. Postal Service delivery of mail ballots. Election officials warn it will be impossible to implement in the days before the first wave of mail ballots are sent out next week.

“Across the country, states are already deep into preparations for the 2026 elections. Now, at the last moment, the federal government is attempting to meddle in those preparations and potentially threaten countless Americans’ right to vote,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of 25 Democratic attorneys general filing the lawsuit, said in a statement. “USPS has no authority to decide who can and cannot vote by mail.”

Trump’s executive order remains barred from taking effect under a separate injunction that the administration argues needs to be immediately rescinded in light of the high court’s ruling in the previous Democratic state lawsuit. It also had succeeded in a third case filed in May in the District of Columbia, convincing a judge that it was too early to prevent its implementation of the executive order.

All previous challenges were filed before the administration published its mail ballot rule Friday night. The rule says that if states want their mail ballots delivered, they will need federal approval of the design of their envelopes and must give the Postal Service a list of voters eligible to receive them.

The White House has called the Postal Service plan “commonsense measures that protect the security of mail-in ballots” and said the administration would continue to work to implement it to boost “the safety and security of our elections.”

The Postal Service said it would not comment because of the pending lawsuit.

National Democrats on Tuesday cited the rule in asking the federal judge in the Washington case to block Trump’s order after he declined to do so last spring, saying the administration at the time had not taken concrete action. In Boston, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani also found that the administration moving forward with the mail ballot rule had violated a separate injunction she had placed on the Postal Service prohibiting it from enacting Trump’s order, although she did not take any action against the government.

Talwani, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, had issued the injunction against Trump’s executive order in the prior Democratic state case, which is the one the Supreme Court overturned on Monday. She has yet to act on the administration’s urging her to revoke her second injunction. It was issued Aug. 11 in a case against the executive order and was filed by the League of Women Voters and other voting rights groups while the Supreme Court was considering the administration’s appeal of the judge's first order.

Trump has long targeted mail voting, which he falsely blames for his 2020 election loss and is disproportionately used by Democrats as a result of Trump’s condemnations. Since returning to power, Trump has tried to claim authority over election rules, saying he thinks Republicans should “take over” vote counting in Democratic areas.

He issued his first election executive order just months after retaking office, attempting to require documentary proof of citizenship to vote, among other changes. He has also been pushing a sweeping election bill that has stalled in the Senate amid opposition from Democrats and even some within his own party.

FILE - A worker sorts ballots at the L.A. County Ballot Processing Center during the California primary election, June 2, 2026, in City of Industry, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang, File)

President Donald Trump listens during a back to school event in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

An election worker sorts vote-by-mail ballots at the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office for the Florida primary election in Doral, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

An election worker places a vote-by-mail ballot into a secure bin at the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office during the Florida primary election in Doral, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III and Queen Camilla will visit three countries in and around the Caribbean when he travels to the region for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, which begins Nov. 1 in St. John’s, the capital of Antigua and Barbuda.

Charles’ autumn tour will begin Oct. 27 in the Bahamas, one of the 14 countries other than the United Kingdom where he is head of state.

He will then travel to Guyana for a state visit marking 60 years of bilateral relations between Britain and the nation on South America’s northern coast. Guyana, a former British colony, became a self-governing dominion in 1966 and a fully independent republic in 1970.

Charles is the symbolic head of the Commonwealth, an association of 56 independent countries, many of which have historic ties to Britain. Its members include major economic powers such as nations Australia, Canada and India, as well as small island nations like Tuvalu in the South Pacific and the three Caribbean nations the king will visit later this year.

The Commonwealth heads of government meet every two years to discuss shared challenges, strengthen cooperation and look for ways to promote development.

Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/royalty

FILE - Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla arrive for the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Glasgow, Scotland, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)