A federal judge has temporarily blocked new restrictions on mail-in voting from taking effect just days before states are scheduled to begin sending ballots for the November midterm elections.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a 14-day restraining order Thursday, halting key provisions of a new U.S. Postal Service rule implementing President Donald Trump’s executive order on mail voting. The rule would require states to provide the Postal Service with lists of voters receiving mail ballots and use envelopes meeting new federal requirements, including trackable barcodes.
The timing was central to the judge’s decision. States argued that many have already ordered their mail ballots and do not have enough time or money to overhaul their election systems before voting begins. Talwani agreed, writing:
“Plaintiff states have neither time nor funds to design new mail ballots, seek approval of the new designs, order production of mail ballots, update their own election management systems, train election officials to use the USPS portal and upload citizen data to the portal, all before the midterms.”
The ruling comes only days after the Supreme Court cleared away an earlier legal block on the administration’s mail-voting effort. But the justices did so on procedural grounds, concluding that the earlier challenge had been brought prematurely because final implementation rules had not yet been issued. The Postal Service subsequently issued its final rule, allowing states and voting-rights organizations to renew their challenges.
The latest order lasts for two weeks, with another hearing scheduled for September 3, and the dispute could quickly return to the Supreme Court. With nearly one-third of U.S. voters casting ballots by mail and some states preparing to send their first ballots as early as next week, the outcome could directly affect how mail voting operates in November’s elections.
