Gavin Newsom says California will sue Trump administration again to block ‘Orwellian rules’ meant to curb mail-in voting – as it happened

Read the original at The Guardian ↗
Cite

Ambrose, T., Mackey, R., Betts, A., & Popat, S. (2026, August 25). Gavin Newsom says California will sue Trump administration again to block ‘Orwellian rules’ meant to curb mail-in voting – as it happened. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/aug/24/hakeem-jeffries-jared-kushner-democrats-midterm-elections-donald-trump-iran-war-sanctions-latest-news-updates

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-08-25 · by Tom Ambrose, Robert Mackey, Anna Betts, Shrai Popat

Quick Summary

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced plans to sue the Trump administration again over federal changes to mail voting, which he calls "Orwellian rules". Two new proposed state laws in California would make interfering with mail ballot delivery a felony punishable by up to four years in prison. The US Supreme Court recently lifted one injunction blocking the Trump administration's effort to restrict mail voting, but legal experts say this decision does not mean Trump can limit mail voting for the upcoming midterms. Newsom claims that these changes are an attempt to rig elections and undermine democracy.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-08-25, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

The Trump Administration's Efforts to Restrict Mail-In Voting

President Donald Trump's executive order, issued on March 31, aimed to create a federal list of eligible voters and restrict mail-in voting by requiring states to use specific envelopes and barcodes. The US Postal Service (USPS) was instructed to deliver ballots only to those on the approved list.

However, this move was blocked by two court orders in Massachusetts, issued by Judge Indira Talwani on June 25 and August 11. These injunctions prevented the USPS from implementing the new rule before the midterm elections in November.

In response, the Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court, which initially decided to allow the restriction of mail-in voting to proceed while the case was ongoing. This decision was seen as a preliminary victory for President Trump.

However, the Supreme Court's unsigned opinion did not declare the executive order lawful, and Democratic-led states argued that permitting the administration to push ahead with changes would contribute to pre-election chaos.

In response, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that his state would sue again to block federal changes to mail voting. The California legislature also proposed two new laws that would make it a crime to interfere with the delivery of mail ballots, punishable by up to four years in prison.

The USPS has submitted a motion to dissolve one of the court injunctions blocking the implementation of the Trump administration's plan, and published new guidelines that could take effect if legal barriers are removed.

Written for “Trump's Mail Voting Restrictions” on 2026-10-16, grounded in this article and the 15 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump's Mail Voting Restrictions
Politics · 16 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 13% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
NBC News
⚖️ Leans right 🔴 4% hedged 1 of 26 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles report on the Supreme Court's decision regarding Trump's executive order on mail-in ballots, dated August 25th, 2026.”
Mother Jones
⚖️ Leans strongly left 🔴 18% hedged 7 of 39 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles report on the Supreme Court's decision on Trump's executive order restricting mail-in voting, issued on the same day (2026-08-25)”
Los Angeles Times
⚖️ Leans strongly left 🔴 7% hedged 4 of 54 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles report on the Supreme Court decision allowing Trump's plan for mail ballot rules and California's intention to sue again, indicating they are covering the exact same occurrence.”
The Independent
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 10% hedged 4 of 41 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles report on the same Supreme Court decision allowing President Trump's mail-voting order and the subsequent reaction from California Governor Gavin Newsom, which occurred on the same day (Monday) at a similar time.”
Los Angeles Times
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 11% hedged 4 of 38 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles report on a single lawsuit filed by California and other states against the Trump administration to block federal changes to mail voting, citing similar details about the rules and the state's governor's statements.”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans left 🔴 9% hedged 2 of 23 📰 publisher trust 68
“Both articles describe a federal judge blocking Trump's executive order limiting mail voting, although Article A focuses on California's response and new state laws.”
The Bulwark
⚖️ Leans right 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 4
“Article A reports on SCOTUS letting Trump move ahead with mail voting crackdown, while Article B reports on California planning to sue Trump administration again to block 'Orwellian rules' - they cover the same type of event but a different occurrence and time”
The Bulwark
⚖️ Leans strongly left 🔴 22% hedged 13 of 58
“Although both articles mention a recent Supreme Court ruling on mail-in voting, they describe different aspects of it and do not clearly report on the same specific occurrence.”
Fox News
⚖️ Leans right 🔴 12% hedged 4 of 32 📰 publisher trust 67
“Article A reports on California planning to sue the Trump administration again, while Article B reports on the Supreme Court's ruling allowing federal action and the potential for new lawsuits”
UPI
⚖️ Leans strongly left 🔴 6% hedged 1 of 16 📰 publisher trust 56
“Article B describes a federal judge blocking Trump administration mail-in voting restrictions, while Article A is about California planning to sue again after an earlier lawsuit was rejected”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
150
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
13%
19 of 150 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
68/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
16
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-08-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 1359 article(s) · 4 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 4 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Tom Ambrose
17 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Robert Mackey
13 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Anna Betts
12 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Shrai Popat
6 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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All 6 articles by Shrai Popat →

Topics

California NAACP Republicans the Trump administration the United States

Subjects

California GPE · 6× Trump PERSON · 4× Donald Trump PERSON · 3× Newsom PERSON · 3× the Trump administration ORG · 3× Gavin Newsom PERSON · 1× Ketanji Brown Jackson PERSON · 1× NAACP ORG · 1× Republicans NORP · 1× the United States GPE · 1×

Narrative

While the court’s unsigned opinion, from the six Republican-appointed justices, did not say that an executive order signed by Donald Trump to limit mail voting was legal, Jackson argued that permitting the administration to push ahead with changes, including a plan for the US Postal Service (USPS) to refuse to deliver ballots from voters not on a pre-approved list of eligible voters created by the federal government, “contributes to pre-election chaos instead of quashing it”.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-25
🔮 California plans to sue again to stop Trump from restricting mail voting and could make blocking delivery a felony

Claims (150 extracted, 19 hedged)

California plans to sue again to stop Trump from restricting mail voting and could make blocking delivery a felony uncertain
blocking → plan → delivery
California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, said on Monday that his state would sue the Trump administration again to block federal changes to mail voting, after the US supreme court ruled that a previous suit was filed too early in the process by his state and 22 others. asserted
suit → say → state
“California will be suing AGAIN to block these Orwellian rules from being implemented,” Newsom posted. asserted
Newsom → sue → rules
Newsom also highlighted two new proposed state laws that would make it a crime to interfere with the delivery of mail ballots. asserted
it → highlight → ballots
In a press release, Newsom added that he and the California legislature “are doubling down to ensure California continues to defend democracy as new threats from Donald Trump and his election-rigging allies emerge”. asserted
threats → add → Trump
Two draft laws would establish three new felonies under California state law, punishable by up to four years in prison. asserted
laws → establish → prison
One of the laws would prohibit anyone “from seizing or causing the seizure of ballots, election records, or certified voting technology before election results are certified”, and blocks “any person with authority from directing someone in their supervision to do the same”. asserted
results → prohibit → same
The second law makes it a felony “for a person in a position with authority” to direct another person “to interfere with a ballot’s delivery to a voter or return to the local elections official”. asserted
person → make → official
That same legislation would make it a misdemeanor to interfere with “the delivery of a vote by mail ballot to a voter”. asserted
it → make → voter
This concludes our live coverage of the second Trump administration for the day. asserted
This → conclude → day
The US supreme court lifted one of two injunctions that block the Trump administration from pressing ahead with a sweeping effort to restrict mail voting The court’s decision “needlessly injects chaos and uncertainty into the upcoming midterm elections”, justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in a blistering dissent. asserted
Jackson → lift → dissent
The NAACP, which sued in April to block the order to restrict mail-in voting, said that Republicans are trying to make it harder to vote in November because they “know full well that they are unpopular and will lose in a free and fair election”. asserted
they → sue → election
The Trump administration is preparing to revoke the visas of up to 200,000 foreigners who have applied for asylum status in the United States, according to US state department documents obtained by the Associated Press. uncertain
who → prepare → Press
Donald Trump responded to criticism of his new tariffs on Canadian imports from the premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, by comparing him unfavorably to his late brother, Rob Ford, a former mayor of Toronto best known for smoking crack. asserted
Trump → respond → crack
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent announced that the US has begun an “unprecedented” sanctions campaign against Iran “and its enablers”. asserted
US → announce → Iran
Legal experts say US supreme court decision does not mean Trump can restrict mail voting for midterms While the US supreme court on Monday lifted one of two injunctions that block the Trump administration from pressing ahead with a sweeping federal power grab over mail voting, a number of legal experts have pointed out that no changes can be made while the second injunction remains in place. asserted
injunction → say → place
The real action, they note, will come in legal challenges to a US Postal Service rule that would allow it to not deliver ballots in states that refuse to hand over lists of eligible voters, in line with an executive order issued in March by Donald Trump. asserted
that → note → Trump
“Please don’t overreact to Roberts Court decision on the contemplated USPS ballot moves,” Norm Eisen, a former ethics adviser in the Obama White House and a founder of the legacy advocacy group Democracy Defenders Action, wrote on social media. asserted
Eisen → overreact → media
“They simply held that the injunction came too early in the process, before there was a final rule … asserted
injunction → hold → process
Now we HAVE a final rule & we will litigate it. asserted
we → have → it
I’m as confident in our arguments here as in any of our cases!” asserted
I → ’m → cases
Steve Vladeck, a Georgetown University law professor, wrote in his newsletter: “Late Friday night, the U.S. Postal Service (finally) released the ‘Final Rule’ that was supposed to be published by the end of July that purports to implement Trump’s executive order. asserted
that → write → order
It’s that rule, not the executive order itself, that would be the basis for the USPS messing with mail-in ballots come October and November.” asserted
USPS → ’ → ballots
Vladeck suggests that, as soon as Tuesday, a federal judge could block the new USPS rule on mail ballots, which essentially requires states to hand over lists of eligible voters to the federal government before any mail ballots can be delivered. uncertain
ballots → suggest → government
That rule is scheduled to go into effect on Wednesday. asserted
rule → schedule → Wednesday
Something called the Purcell principle, which dictates that courts should not change the rules on how people vote too close to an election, could come in to play, Vladeck writes. uncertain
Vladeck → call → election
With mail ballots set to go out to North Carolina voters in the military or abroad at the end of next week, the supreme court’s conservative majority could invoke the Purcell principle as an excuse to strike down any legal challenge to the new USPS rule as coming “too close to the election”. uncertain
majority → set → election
“That’s a genuine concern, and given the Court’s own repeated transgressions of the Purcell principle earlier this term in Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama, to hide behind it to allow the USPS Final Rule to go into effect would be as indefensible and anti-democratic a ruling as the Court has handed down in a very long time,” Vladeck argues. asserted
Vladeck → ’ → time
Oregon promises to fight Trump's effort to change its mail voting system asserted
Oregon → promise → system
The two dozen plaintiffs that lost at the supreme court on Monday, 23 states and the District of Columbia that sued to block the Trump administration from implementing sweeping restrictions on mail voting, have lined up to express outrage and their determination to fight on in the courts. asserted
that → lose → courts
Officials in Oregon, which has conducted its elections entirely by mail since 1998, vowed on Monday to take legal action if the US Postal Service or any other federal agency “unlawfully takes steps to interfere with mail voting”. asserted
Service → conduct → voting
“We’re not going to let Donald Trump interfere in our elections—and we’re certainly not going to let him decide who gets a ballot and who doesn’t,” Oregon’s attorney general Dan Rayfield said. asserted
Rayfield → go → ballot
The state’s top elections official, secretary of state Tobias Read, said the midterms “will proceed as planned this November, free from any illegal federal interference”. asserted
midterms → say → interference
“President Trump’s directive to the United States Postal Service is unconstitutional and an assault on our democracy and designed to silence voters,” Oregon’s governor, Tina Kotek, said. asserted
governor → design → voters
“Oregon has been conducting elections by mail-in voting safely and securely for decades. asserted
Oregon → conduct → decades
My message to the President is clear: keep your hands off our elections.” asserted
message → keep → elections
California plans to sue again to stop Trump from restricting mail voting and could make blocking delivery a felony California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, said on Monday that his state would sue the Trump administration again to block federal changes to mail voting, after the US supreme court ruled that a previous suit was filed too early in the process by his state and 22 others. uncertain
suit → plan → state
“California will be suing AGAIN to block these Orwellian rules from being implemented,” Newsom posted. asserted
Newsom → sue → rules
Newsom also highlighted two new proposed state laws that would make it a crime to interfere with the delivery of mail ballots. asserted
it → highlight → ballots
In a press release, Newsom added that he and the California legislature “are doubling down to ensure California continues to defend democracy as new threats from Donald Trump and his election-rigging allies emerge”. asserted
threats → add → Trump
…and 110 more, not listed.
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