A federal judge late Saturday temporarily blocked the U.S. Postal Service from sending a notice about the November elections to more people in Colorado, finding that the mailer “provides patently false information” about the state’s voting system that could sow confusion among voters.
The ruling arrived hours after the state filed a lawsuit in response to the national mailer, which urges “postal customers” around the country to “request your mail-in ballot (often called ‘absentee’ ballot) at least 15 days before Election Day.”
Voters in Colorado, eight other states and the District of Columbia do not need to request mail ballots for November because their states are already sending them out. Those jurisdictions either conduct universal mail elections or are holding them this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Attorneys for the Postal Service wrote in a court filing that the flier was intended to help voters seek out information about the rules in their state. The mailer also encourages voters to “contact your election board to confirm” local rules and deadlines, to “add postage to the return envelope if needed” and to “mail your ballot at least 7 days before Election Day,” according to a photocopy included in Colorado’s lawsuit.