Overview
- The court denied the administration’s emergency request on Sept. 15, leaving in place federal injunctions from Boston and Washington that stop the USPS rules from taking effect for the 2026 midterms.
- Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote a concurrence saying the rules should not apply this year because election officials lack time to implement them, but he suggested the measures could be legally viable in future cases.
- Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, arguing the Postal Service has authority to adopt the changes and the government has a legitimate interest in tracking mail ballots.
- A USPS whistleblower and election officials warned that the proposed portal, individualized barcodes and strict envelope standards could cause barcode or name mismatches that lead postal workers to withhold entire batches of ballots and risk widespread nondelivery.
- States may continue current mail‑ballot operations for November, but the underlying appeals and factual disputes over voter data sharing, postal authority and election access mean legal and logistical uncertainty will persist after the midterms.