The Supreme Court on Monday refused to let the Trump administration enforce a new USPS mail-in ballot rule before the November midterms, leaving in place a lower court's injunction that has blocked the regulation since the summer.
Why it matters: States can keep processing mail ballots under their existing rules for the 2026 midterms. The order is a setback for a White House push to add standardized envelopes, barcodes and voter-identifier data to how the Postal Service handles absentee ballots nationwide — and it leaves the underlying legal fight over that authority unresolved. Washington Examiner
Driving the news:
The Court issued an unsigned order on Sept. 14 denying the administration's request to stay the injunction blocking the rule. Fox News
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote separately, saying there was “at least a fair prospect” the rule falls within USPS's statutory authority, but concluding it couldn't be implemented “in a reasonable manner” this close to the midterms. Fox News
Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented — the only two justices who would have granted the stay. Daily Signal
The rule, which USPS finalized on Aug. 21 under Trump's March executive order, would have required states to share ballot-recipient data with the Postal Service and use standardized envelopes with barcodes and voter identifiers. Daily Signal
By the numbers:
23 state attorneys general and Washington, D.C. — led by California AG Rob Bonta — sued to block the rule, along with nonprofit groups including the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts. Daily Signal
March 2026: Trump signs the executive order “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.”
Aug. 21, 2026: USPS publishes the final rule.
Sept. 14, 2026: The Supreme Court denies the stay.
Nov. 3, 2026: Midterm Election Day — North Carolina had already begun mailing absentee ballots before the ruling, with other states set to follow within days. Daily Signal
What they're saying: Justice Kavanaugh, concurring, wrote there was “at least a fair prospect that the final rule falls within the Postal Service's statutory authority,” but that it could not be implemented “in a reasonable manner” before Election Day. Fox News
The other side: In dissent, Justice Alito — joined by Thomas — wrote that “the Court incorrectly denies the Government's application for a stay of a universal injunction that bars implementation of a final rule concerning election ballot mail,” arguing some plaintiffs lacked standing and that others were pressing a claim “this Court has recently called a ‘Hail Mary pass’ that ‘rarely succeeds.’” Fox News
What's next:
The rule stays blocked through the Nov. 3 midterms while litigation over USPS's underlying authority to issue it continues in the lower courts.
A final ruling on the merits would set the terms for whether a similar rule could take effect in future elections.
The bottom line: The order settles how mail ballots will be handled this November without resolving the bigger fight over how much authority the Postal Service has to set its own ballot-verification rules — a question likely to keep coming back after the midterms.
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