Appeals Court Rules USPS Will Suffer 'Irreparable Harm' if Prevented From Blocking Ballots

The result is an uneasy patchwork in which the USPS has the green light from one powerful court to build a new ballot‑delivery regime, while the underlying presidential directive driving that policy is frozen elsewhere. (Credit: Tareq Ismail/Unsplash)

A federal appeals court in Washington on Friday cleared the USPS to press ahead with controversial changes to how it handles mail‑in and absentee ballots ahead of November's midterm elections, ruling that the Postal Service would suffer 'irreparable harm' if blocked from implementing the policy while lawsuits continue.

The dispute centres on a Trump administration push to tighten control over which voters receive mail‑in and absentee ballots. In March,Trump signed an executive order directing the USPS to draft a rule that would allow it to refuse delivery of ballot materials in states that do not share detailed, eligible voter lists with the federal government. The directive immediately alarmed voting rights groups, who argue the Postal Service's role is to deliver election mail, not to police voter eligibility.