On Sept. 14, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to reverse a lower court order blocking the implementation of an executive order President Donald Trump (R) issued in March that would prohibit the delivery of absentee/mail-in ballots to anyone not enrolled by state election officials in a U.S. Postal Service portal.
The ruling means that the rules implementing the order, issued by the USPS in August, will not be in effect for the Nov. 3 election. Those rules require state officials to enroll voters in a USPS portal in order for them to receive a ballot in the mail. The physical mail must also meet set standards and contain certain information, such as a unique barcode for each ballot envelope.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a preliminary injunction on Sept. 4 blocking the rules from being implemented for the 2026 election. The ruling came in response to two lawsuits filed by multiple states and organizations.
