The USPS requirements could have prevented some eligible voters from receiving or returning ballots ahead of the November midterms, challengers argued.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s mail voting rule that would have allowed the U.S. Postal Service to impose new requirements on state mail ballots ahead of the November midterms. The order comes days after a Supreme Court ruling allowed parts of Trump’s mail-voting plan to move forward and one day after a Letitia James-led lawsuit challenged the new USPS requirements.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a temporary restraining order Thursday after Democratic-led states and voting rights groups argued the rule could prevent eligible voters from receiving or returning ballots. The Reuters report said Talwani found the USPS had not shown evidence of mail-voting fraud that justified the new restrictions and said the rule was likely unlawful under the Constitution.
The new mail-in voting rule would require states to submit lists of mail-ballot recipients to USPS. Outbound and return ballot envelopes would also need unique barcodes, while USPS could refuse to deliver ballots that did not comply with the standards or were tied to voters who did not appear on the submitted lists.
Talwani said those requirements posed a significant risk of disenfranchisement as states prepare for the November elections. The Trump mail-in voting rule will remain blocked for 14 days while the judge considers whether to issue a longer preliminary injunction. A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 3.
The dispute follows months of legal challenges to President Donald Trump’s March executive order seeking tighter federal controls over mail voting. Trump has repeatedly claimed widespread fraud in mail voting. Reuters described his claim that widespread voter fraud caused his 2020 election defeat as false.
All 50 states permit some form of voting by mail. Twenty-nine allow voters to request a mail ballot without giving a reason, while eight conduct elections entirely by mail, though you are still able to vote in person at designated voting centers. USPS said it processed nearly 100 million ballots during the 2024 election, when roughly 30% of voters nationwide cast ballots by mail.
The White House and USPS had not responded to Reuters’ requests for comment at the time of publication.
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