Tuesday’s decision comes as the Trump administration instructed the Postal Service to send election mail to “verified” voters; any challenge could remain before the commission up to 90 days before a ruling.
WASHINGTON (CN) — A D.C. Circuit panel ruled Tuesday that plaintiffs must first challenge any postal changes by the U.S. Postal Service at the Postal Regulatory Commission before they can be heard in federal court, likely stymying any such lawsuits before the November midterms.
The three-judge panel unanimously reversed a federal judge’s summary judgment finding for New York, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York City and San Francisco after determining he held no jurisdiction over the claim, which was brought in 2020 over concerns a set of policy changes would impact the November 2020 election.
In the summer of 2020, the Postal Service’s changes included a reduction of the number of high-speed mail sorting machines, a decrease of employee overtime, the elimination of late or extra mail delivery trips and a change in how mail carriers sort and deliver the mail.
The state and city coalition sued in August 2020, successfully arguing the Postal Service failed to obtain an advisory opinion from the commission before making the changes, leading Senior U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, a Bill Clinton appointee, to enjoin the changes in September 2020.
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