Efforts by the administration to reshape national voting rules have encountered another major legal hurdle after a federal judge ruled late Sunday that the U.S. Postal Service must not implement President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting mail-in balloting, just as the Supreme Court prepares to consider the matter.
The highest court in the United States is already weighing the administration’s appeal regarding a directive issued by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani in Boston, which barred the Postal Service from enforcing its new mail voting regulations prior to this year’s midterm elections.
Late Sunday, U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols in Washington, D.C., issued a matching temporary freeze on the rule, which was originally published on Aug. 21.
"Plaintiffs have demonstrated that, absent an injunction, there is an increased risk that a significant number of otherwise appropriate absentee or mail-in ballots will ultimately not be counted in the upcoming elections," Nichols wrote when granting the preliminary injunction. "The public has a strong interest in ensuring that doesn’t happen."
Nichols previously denied a request for an injunction in May, concluding that the lawsuit was brought prematurely. The Supreme Court cited that same rationale late last month when it overturned an earlier stay imposed by Talwani.
However, because the administration subsequently published its formal rule to move forward with Trump’s initiative, legal teams in both Boston and Washington, D.C., refiled their court challenges.
Former President Barack Obama appointed Talwani to the bench, while Trump appointed Nichols.
These updated Postal Service regulations stem from an executive order Trump issued earlier this year. Local and state election officials have warned that implementing these operational adjustments so close to a general election would be virtually impossible.
The regulations require all ballot envelope formats to obtain pre-approval from the Postal Service and require state officials to upload the personal details of intended ballot recipients into a currently non-operational web portal.
Absentee and mail ballots are already being dispatched to voters in at least three states — Alabama, North Carolina, and Wisconsin — with additional states set to begin sending out ballots this week.
A whistleblower report submitted to Congress cautioned that millions of American voters could face disenfranchisement if the new rules take effect for the midterms.
Additionally, the labor union representing U.S. Postal Service employees has opposed the executive order, saying postal workers should not be tasked with assessing voter eligibility.
Voting by mail has repeatedly served as a focus of criticism for Trump, who has falsely cited the practice for his 2020 defeat against Democrat Joe Biden and argued that it causes widespread election fraud, despite having personally cast mail-in ballots.
