The Supreme Court stopped new mail-in ballot rules from starting on Monday. This decision keeps a federal judge’s order in place for the upcoming election. The court said the government is unlikely to win its challenge to that lower court ruling. An unsigned order stated that the factors for emergency relief do not support a pause on the judge’s block.
Justice Samuel Alito dissented, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas. The ruling prevents the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing its new rules before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. This action follows a long legal battle over how ballots are mailed and verified.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March to check voter citizenship. That order told the Postal Service to get lists of intended voters from each state. It said the mail carrier should not deliver ballots to anyone not on those state lists. The order also directed the attorney general to prosecute officials who send ballots to ineligible voters.
Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia sued to stop this plan. California Attorney General Rob Bonta led the group against the federal government. They argued the order takes power away from states to set their own election rules. The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, among other nonprofit groups, also became a party to the lawsuit.
A Trump-appointed judge, Carl Nichols, blocked a related rule issued last month. He wrote that the Postal Service likely went beyond its legal authority. His 24-page opinion said the agency has no role in running elections. He noted that no law gives the Postal Service the power to create new data systems for voters.
Nichols also said the government did not show the rule would stop fraud. The Daily Signal reported that the judge found no record evidence of significant fraud risk. He stated that the government views the final rule as merely a modest regulation of the mail.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani had previously issued a temporary order blocking the rule. She said the rule might stop people from voting because states had already mailed ballots. The government tried to get the Supreme Court to override her order but failed this time. The court said future challenges could happen once the Postal Service finishes its rulemaking.
The Postal Service published its rules on Aug. 21. These rules required states to share voter information and use specific envelope designs. The states and groups sued again after that publication. Now the rules are paused until the legal fight continues. The next steps depend on how the courts handle the final regulations.
