Overview
- A federal judge in Boston issued a 14‑day temporary restraining order late Thursday that bars the Postal Service from enforcing Final Rule provisions on envelope format and voter data while litigation continues.
- The contested rule would require states or local election officials to submit absentee ballot and return‑envelope designs for prior USPS approval and to upload voter‑list data to a postal portal before the agency will deliver mail ballots.
- Judge Indira Talwani wrote plaintiffs are likely to succeed in arguing the rule exceeds the Postal Service’s authority and is unconstitutional, and she cited the practical impossibility for states to redesign ballots, secure postal sign‑off, produce ballots, update election systems and train staff in time for the midterms.
- The court ordered the Department of Justice to notify USPS within 24 hours of the temporary ban and set a further hearing for September 3 to decide next steps.
- The case, brought by 23 states, the District of Columbia, the Pennsylvania governor and voting‑rights groups, raises broader questions about federal power over election administration and could produce appeals that determine whether the rule takes effect before November 3, 2026.