US Appeals Court Blocks Trump Mail-In Ballot Rule as Supreme Court Weighs Case

A federal appeals court in Boston on Thursday declined to let the Trump administration enforce a new U.S. Postal Service rule tightening mail-in voting requirements, leaving the measure blocked while the Supreme Court weighs a parallel request.

The three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to stay an injunction issued last week by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, which has prevented the Postal Service from implementing the rule adopted at President Donald Trump's direction.

The administration had asked the 1st Circuit to lift the order, but did not wait for a decision before turning to the Supreme Court on Sunday. The high court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, is now considering whether to lift the injunction.

In its request, the Justice Department argued that the plaintiffs' case rested on an unfounded premise that the Postal Service intended to seize control of federal election administration, describing the measure as a modest mail-related regulation.

The appeals panel, whose judges were all appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, rejected that framing, saying it focused on "the trees while ignoring the forest." It noted that under the Constitution, states and Congress hold authority to regulate elections, not the executive branch.

The court found no error in Talwani's conclusion that enforcing the rule would likely disenfranchise millions of voters while offering minimal gains in combating voter fraud.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat who helped lead the litigation, welcomed the ruling, saying it rejected the administration's latest attempt to disrupt mail voting. The Postal Service and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The rule implements a March executive order signed by Trump, who has for years called for tighter mail-voting rules and promoted a false claim that his 2020 defeat to Biden resulted from widespread fraud. All 50 states permit some form of mail-in voting; 29 allow voters to request a mail ballot without giving a reason, and eight conduct elections entirely by mail.

Under the rule, states would be required to provide the Postal Service with lists of mail ballot recipients, and all outbound and return ballot envelopes would need unique barcodes. The agency could refuse to deliver ballots that fail to meet the standards or are linked to voters not on the lists.

Talwani blocked the rule after finding it risked disenfranchising voters and was likely unlawful and adopted in violation of the Constitution, which gives states the authority to administer elections. A whistleblower statement released on September 1 by Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut alleged that the Postal Service was rushing to implement a hastily created system that risked disrupting mail ballot delivery during the election.