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3d ago

Appeals Court Keeps USPS Mail‑Ballot Rule Blocked as White House Urges Supreme Court Review

The injunction stays in place because courts say enforcing the Postal Service’s new portal and barcode envelope requirements now would likely block millions of mail ballots and upset state election plans.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway speaks to members of the media at the Missouri Supreme Court in Jefferson City, Missouri, Thursday, September 10.
Ballots to be sorted at a polling location inside City Hall during a primary election in San Francisco, California, US, on Tuesday, June 2, 2026. The vote tabulation generally takes days to complete in California elections, because a mail-in ballot is valid as long as it was postmarked on Election Day and received no later than seven days after the election. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Election workers sort vote-by-mail ballots at the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office for the Florida primary election in Doral, Florida, on August 18.

Overview

  • A three‑judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Sept. 11 refused to lift a preliminary injunction that bars the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing President Trump’s mail‑ballot rule for the 2026 midterms.
  • The administration has filed emergency appeals with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking permission to put the rule into effect while legal challenges continue.
  • Many states have already printed and begun mailing ballots under existing state procedures, and federal deadlines for military and overseas ballots force some mailings to proceed before any court outcome.
  • USPS tells courts its ballot‑mail portal will be ready soon, but an anonymous Postal Service whistleblower and election officials warn the system was rushed, untested, and could fail to match barcodes to voter lists, risks that could prevent ballots from being mailed or delivered.
  • The dispute raises core federalism questions because states run elections, it could change turnout patterns given higher mail voting by Democratic voters in key states, and election officials are urging voters to use early in‑person voting or drop boxes to avoid mail uncertainty.