Court blocks Trump's postal voting plan for the second time

The decision is based on the assessment that the regulation could increase the risk that valid votes would not be counted before the 2026 midterm elections.

What did the new rules change?

The regulation would require USPS‑approved envelope designs and barcodes on absentee ballot envelopes, and would require states to transmit the information of voters who cast ballots by mail to a federal system. USPS could refuse to accept absentee ballots from states that did not comply with the rules.

Nichols concluded that the U.S. Postal Service did not have sufficient legal authority to impose new conditions in this context. It was also noted that changes to be implemented shortly before the elections could cause confusion and delays.

The Supreme Court also halted the implementation.

Nichols’s decision came after federal judge Indira Talwani in Boston halted a similar regulation. Thus the Trump administration’s rules on mail ballots were blocked by two separate federal courts.

The U.S. Supreme Court also denied permission on September 15 for USPS to implement its new rules before the 2026 midterm elections, thereby keeping the current practice of mail voting in elections in place.

While the Trump administration argues that the rules will strengthen election security, opponents claim that implementing the new system will raise the risk that valid votes will go uncounted.