The Supreme Court denied the Trump administration’s request to stay a ruling that blocked the USPS from implementing new mail-in ballot rules before the 2026 midterms.
The majority found the Trump administration unlikely to succeed on the merits.
“But applying the rule in the 2026 elections would be arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act because state and local election officials do not have sufficient time to reasonably implement the rule before the elections,” wrote Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, claiming the administration would succeed on the merits.
“The Court incorrectly denies the Government’s application for a stay of a universal injunction that bars implementation of a final rule concerning election ballot mail,” wrote Alito. “Some of the plaintiffs lack standing, while the remainder are pursuing a claim that this Court has recently called a ‘Hail Mary pass’ that ‘rarely succeeds.’”
Alito and Thomas took on the APA claim, saying that the “statutory claim is not subject to APA review.”
“It is a challenge to the scope of the Postal Service’s general rulemaking authority and therefore exempt from the APA,” stressed Alito.
Trump has said that the restrictions are needed to fight against fraud.
After the USPS finalized its new rule, the coalition of 23 states and the District of Columbia returned to U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Massachusetts, arguing the USPS exceeded its authority and inserted itself into federal elections.
Talwani determined the plaintiffs will likely succeed on the merits and face irreparable harm. She also said the balance of harms and the public interest warrants the temporary restraining order.
The judge blocked:
- a. DMM Section 705.24.3.1, to the extent that the section makes Ballot Mail Envelope Standards mandatory;
- b. DMM Section 705.24.3.2, to the extent that the section makes Return Federal Ballot Mail Envelope Standards mandatory;
- c. DMM Section 705.24.4.1; to the extent that the section makes Postal Service Federal Ballot Mail Portal registration mandatory;
- d. DMM Section 705.24.4.2; to the extent that the section makes voter enrollment in the Postal Service Federal Ballot Mail Portal mandatory
e. DMM Section 705.24.5.1; - f. The first two sentences of DMM Section 705.24.5.2; and
g. DMM Section 705.24.5.3(a), (b), (c).
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