North Carolina -- August 27, 2026: North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson has joined a multi-state lawsuit challenging a new United States Postal Service (USPS) mail-in voting regulation. The legal challenge warns that the administrative rule goes into effect only days before state law requires county boards of elections to begin mailing absentee ballots, risking that eligible voters will not receive requested ballots in time to return them and have them counted.
The legal filing, detailed by the North Carolina Department of Justice and reported by the Carolina Journal, asks a federal court for an emergency temporary restraining order and a permanent injunction to prevent the USPS from enforcing the policy.
“The Constitution is clear on this: The states have the authority over elections, not the Postal Service,” said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “Not only is this last-minute rule change against the law, but it threatens North Carolinians’ voting rights and imposes a whole new process right before an election. We’re taking the Postal Service to court to stop it.”
What We Know About the Lawsuit and Postal Rule
Impending Deadlines: The new USPS regulation was published just ahead of the statutory date when North Carolina county election boards must begin issuing absentee ballots for upcoming elections.
Mandatory Electronic Portal: The rule directs election boards to enroll nearly all mail-in voters into a centralized electronic database and provide barcode data for every ballot envelope.
Delivery Withholding: Under the directive, postal personnel are instructed not to process or deliver mail-in ballots if an associated barcode cannot be located in the electronic portal, regardless of state eligibility determinations.
Implementation Challenges: Election administrators and postal workers have received no prior training on the portal system, creating a significant risk of administrative errors and delivery bottlenecks.
Affected Populations: Hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians rely on absentee voting, including overseas military personnel, seniors, voters with disabilities, and Western North Carolina residents recovering from natural disasters.
Legal Background and Multi-State Action
Executive Order Origins: The postal regulation stems from a federal executive order issued earlier this year. While lower courts previously blocked the order, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed that injunction on procedural grounds without ruling on the legal merits of the policy, leading to this direct challenge against the USPS rule.
Coalition of States: North Carolina is participating in the lawsuit alongside attorneys general from 23 states—including Arizona, California, Colorado, Michigan, New York, and Virginia—as well as the District of Columbia and the Governor of Pennsylvania.
Constitutional Argument: The lawsuit contends that under the U.S. Constitution, states hold the primary authority to administer voting procedures and that federal agencies cannot unilaterally restrict ballot delivery without explicit congressional authorization.
Voter Resources
For official voting procedures, absentee tracking, and registration details, visit the North Carolina State Board of Elections.