A federal judge on Friday once again blocked the U.S. Postal Service from requiring states to comply with new mail-ballot procedures established under President Donald Trump’s executive order — a decision that throws the administration’s plan into limbo with the November midterms fast approaching.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, an Obama appointee, issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Postal Service from imposing the requirements, replacing a temporary block she had put in place after Democratic-led states renewed their legal challenge. The ruling comes as states are beginning to distribute ballots, with North Carolina already mailing its first ballots on Friday and others expected to follow soon.
The rule at the center of the dispute would require state election officials to submit voters’ names, addresses, and unique ballot-envelope barcodes through a federal portal before handing outbound ballots over to the Postal Service. Under the rule, the Postal Service could reject mailings that did not comply and return them to election officials, potentially delaying or discarding ballots.
Judge Talwani said the timing of the requirement would make compliance difficult as states gear up for the election cycle, writing that states are “unable to pivot this late in the election cycle, nearly guaranteeing significant disenfranchisement for eligible voters.”
Background of the Legal Battle
The case already reached the Supreme Court last month, when the justices paused an earlier injunction issued by Talwani on August 24. In that decision, the Court found that the states had sued before demonstrating that Trump’s executive order would actually harm them, but it made clear that it had not ruled on the legality of the administration’s actions.
Following that ruling, Talwani lifted her remaining injunction, briefly clearing the way for the Postal Service to implement its procedures. By that point, the Postal Service had already issued its final rule, which changed the landscape of the dispute. That development allowed the states to challenge the rule itself, rather than the underlying executive order.
The states then sued over the final rule, and Talwani blocked it on Friday, setting the stage for another round of Supreme Court review.
Next Steps at the Supreme Court
The Trump administration had already asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to lift Talwani’s temporary block. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson gave the states challenging the rule until 10 a.m. Tuesday to respond. After Talwani replaced the temporary order with a preliminary injunction on Friday, the parties notified the Supreme Court of the new ruling. The justices have not indicated when they will act.
According to the Associated Press, states may voluntarily use the Postal Service’s new system, but none have announced plans to do so. This leaves the federal portal system without any announced participants, even as the legal fight continues.
The ruling is a significant setback for the administration’s efforts to overhaul mail-in voting procedures ahead of the midterms. With ballots already being mailed in some states, the judge’s concerns about timing and voter access are likely to remain central as the case moves forward.
The Supreme Court’s quick action last month suggests it is treating the matter with urgency, but its next move remains uncertain. If the justices decide to weigh in again, they will have to consider whether the new rule changes the calculus from their earlier decision, and whether the states have now shown sufficient harm to justify blocking the requirements.
For now, the preliminary injunction stands, keeping the Postal Service from enforcing the new rules — but the legal uncertainty is far from over, and the potential for disenfranchisement looms as the election draws near.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/obama-appointed-judge-throws-trumps-mail-in-ballot-plan-into-limbo