Kenneth Glad
The latest ruling arrives as preparations for the November midterms move into their final stages. Federal courts are still deciding how far the government can go in reshaping ballot-mail procedures.
A federal judge has blocked key provisions of a new U.S. Postal Service ballot-mail rule for at least 14 days, according to ABC News.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued the temporary order Thursday. The Associated Press reported that election officials are expected to begin sending the first mailed ballots next week, adding urgency to the renewed challenge.
The temporary block means affected provisions cannot take effect while the court considers the latest arguments. With ballot preparation already under way in many jurisdictions, the dispute is now unfolding alongside election administrators’ existing deadlines rather than months before voting begins.
Two injunctions affected implementation
The Supreme Court stayed an injunction in Trump v. California on August 24. Its decision focused on jurisdiction, including standing and ripeness, rather than deciding whether President Donald Trump’s underlying policy was lawful.
A second injunction in related litigation remained in effect. Talwani removed that injunction on August 26 after the Supreme Court ruling, leaving no injunction in those two cases blocking implementation at that point.
The USPS final rule lists August 21 as its effective date and was published in the Federal Register on August 26. The agency had stated that it would not implement the requirements for the 2026 election while the relevant injunctions remained in force.
The legal fight is not over. The Supreme Court did not decide whether the policy itself is lawful, so lower courts can now examine the finalized rule in greater detail.
Postal requirements remain disputed
According to the USPS final rule, federal ballot envelopes must carry the Official Election Mail logo, meet automation standards and use voter-specific Intelligent Mail barcodes.
USPS says it does not determine voter eligibility or citizenship. States remain responsible for determining voter eligibility, and portal information is not checked against Homeland Security, Social Security or other external databases.
Noncompliant outbound mailings will not be accepted and will be returned to the authorized ballot mailer for correction before resubmission.
Sources: ABC News, Associated Press, U.S. Postal Service final rule published in the Federal Register, U.S. Supreme Court
