Overview
- The Supreme Court declined emergency relief Monday, so district judges’ orders barring the Postal Service from enforcing its August rule remain in effect and states can continue using their existing mail-ballot processes.
- The USPS rule would have required states to upload lists of mail‑ballot recipients to an agency portal, use Postal Service‑approved barcoded outbound and return envelopes, and let the agency refuse noncompliant mailings.
- Two federal judges in Boston and Washington issued temporary blocks citing likely constitutional and statutory problems and the risk of widespread disenfranchisement if the rule were imposed close to the election.
- A USPS whistleblower and election officials warned the portal and barcode system were rushed and glitchy, saying a single barcode or portal error could cause entire batches of ballots to be delayed or not sent.
- Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented while Justice Brett Kavanaugh concurred on timing concerns, leaving open the possibility that the underlying legal questions about Postal Service power and the Elections Clause will be litigated after the midterms.