Story perspectives

Postal Service Certifies Leon County Mail Ballots, Judge Blocks Rule

By Drooid · Sep 13, 2026, 10:44 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

The U.S. Postal Service certified Leon County’s vote-by-mail envelopes, allowing 32,000 ballots to be mailed on Sept. 24.
Postal Service rejected the envelopes on Sept. 2 because return address was 0.236 inches from line, under the 0.25-inch rule.
A federal district judge in Boston issued an injunction blocking the Trump administration’s mail-in voting rule.
President Donald Trump’s administration asked the Supreme Court to set aside lower-court rulings and allow the rule for November.

History

Historical Context

After the 2000 election dispute, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act, which President George W. Bush signed on Oct 29 2002, creating the Election Assistance Commission and earmarking $1.5 billion for voting-system upgrades. HAVA’s nationwide standards are now being applied as the USPS rejected Leon County’s envelopes, prompting Judge Burroughs’ injunction.

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Story summary

The U.S. Postal Service certified Leon County’s vote-by-mail envelopes, allowing 32,000 ballots to be mailed on Sept. 24.
Postal Service rejected the envelopes on Sept. 2 because return address was 0.236 inches from line, under the 0.25-inch rule.
A federal district judge in Boston issued an injunction blocking the Trump administration’s mail-in voting rule.
President Donald Trump’s administration asked the Supreme Court to set aside lower-court rulings and allow the rule for November.

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