Overview
- The Supreme Court issued a short order that prevents the USPS rules from taking effect for the 2026 midterms, with Justices Alito and Thomas dissenting and Justice Kavanaugh saying the rules cannot be implemented in time.
- The disputed federal plan would have required states to give voter registration lists to the USPS and to use individualized barcode envelopes that the postal service could use to reject or block delivery of ballots that do not match state records.
- A USPS employee and Senator Richard Blumenthal warned that the agency rushed development of a still‑unbuilt federal portal and barcode system, saying the process removed standard testing and risked mass rejections or lot‑level withholding of mailed ballots.
- State officials, led publicly by California, said voters should expect vote‑by‑mail to remain available and urged early or alternative voting while counties finalize contingency plans and prepare to mail ballots by state deadlines.
- Separately, the Fifth Circuit reinstated several provisions of Texas’s SB1 that restore absentee‑ID and voter‑assistance rules, showing that state‑level election changes are moving forward even as federal litigation continues.