Supreme Court Review of USPS Mail-Ballot Rule Ahead of 2024 Midterms

The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to lift a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani that blocks the Postal Service from enforcing a new rule tied to President Donald Trump’s March executive order on mail voting. The administration seeks a stay so the USPS can require states to upload voter lists to an online portal and to have ballot envelopes pre-approved before the November midterm elections.

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• September 4 – A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, all appointed by President Joe Biden, denied the administration’s request to lift Talwani’s injunction, finding the rule exceeds the Postal Service’s statutory authority.

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• September 6 – The Solicitor General, D.

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• The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the stay; its conservative 6-3 majority could influence the outcome, but the Court’s earlier refusal to lift a prior injunction suggests reluctance to intervene.

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• State plaintiffs (California and other states) contend the rule is an “unprecedented experiment” that threatens the constitutional right to vote and asked the Court to deny the stay.

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• Judge Carl J. Nichols (U.S. District Court, Washington, D.C.)

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• “Nothing in the Postal Reorganization Act authorizes the Postal Service to impose new election procedures on state election officials, to create a data collection system for mail-in and absentee voters, or to refuse the transmission of lawful mail because it fails to meet these data collection requirements,” — Carl J. Nichols, district judge

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• “And attempting to require election officials to change their procedures for printing ballot envelopes and distributing absentee ballots in the middle of an ongoing election poses substantial risks of creating new mistakes or irregularities and delaying ballot distribution,” — Lawsuit Michael Morley

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• “The fact that the court has not acted so far suggests it will not,” — David Schultz, a professor of political science at Hamline University

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• “Current law and readings of the Constitution suggest the president should lose,” — David Schultz, a professor of political science at Hamline University

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Nearly one-third of U.S. voters use mail ballots; the rule’s implementation could affect states that rely heavily on absentee voting. Experts Michael Morley (Florida State University) and David Schultz (Hamline University) argue that the timing makes nationwide rollout unlikely and that the Court’s inaction “suggests it will not” lift the injunction. The Supreme Court’s decision, expected soon, will determine whether the USPS can enforce the new requirements before early voting begins across the country.

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