[REVISION HISTORY]

Trump administration appeals block on USPS mail-in voting

Updated 81 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-09-11 01:28 UTC → 2026-09-11 07:55 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Following the Supreme Court’s August 24, 2026, ruling to lift a lower-court injunction, the Trump administration has been permitted to proceed with parts of the “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections” executive order. The Court found that the states challenging the order lacked standing because the “alleged harm was too speculative,” though it did not rule on the order’s underlying legality. A coalition of Democratic-led states, the District of Columbia, the Governor of Pennsylvania, and various civil rights organizations—including the League of Women Voters and the U.S. Vote Foundation—filed a lawsuit to block a final USPS rule requiring states to adopt uniform mail ballot envelope designs, use unique barcodes, and provide voter lists via a federal portal. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani has repeatedly blocked the implementation of these rules. On August 31, 2026, she denied a request to lift a temporary block, ruling implementation before the November midterms would be “practically impossible.” On September 4, 2026, she extended the preliminary injunction, noting that enforcing these mandates could “nearly guarantee significant disenfranchisement.” The Trump administration’s third emergency appeal to the Supreme Court faced a setback on September 8, 2026, when the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously denied a request to stay the injunction. On September 10, 2026, a three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the preliminary injunction, agreeing with plaintiffs that the president lacks the authority to regulate state election policies. The court noted the administration failed to provide evidence of past fraud and did not address concerns that the changes could cause “chaos and widespread disenfranchisement.” ~~The legal battle now moves to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is considering~~ In the ~~administration’s request~~ wake of these legal developments, reports have surfaced regarding an increase in rejected ballots due to ~~lift the block.~~ late postmarks in Washington and Oregon.

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