US court finds USPS breached an injunction over its mail-ballot rule
A federal court in Massachusetts found that the US Postal Service disobeyed an earlier injunction by finalising its mail-ballot rule, but imposed no separate sanction. In Switzerland, a civil alliance launched its campaign against constitutional limits on military cooperation and sanctions without a UN mandate ahead of the 27 September neutrality vote.
Geopolitics··Midday
Finalising the rule counted as implementation
US District Judge Indira Talwani in Massachusetts found on 25 August that the US Postal Service had disobeyed her earlier injunction by finalising its mail-ballot rule. Bloomberg Law reported that the court rejected the argument that the new text was merely preparatory and treated finalisation as a step towards implementation. The ruling located the dispute over election procedure at the boundary between the agency's rulemaking process and the court order that had halted it.[1]
The next step remains in separate litigation
Talwani found noncompliance but imposed no separate sanction on the US Postal Service. The ruling therefore did not settle whether the rule may take effect before the election; that question remains for further litigation. The court rejected the agency's argument that it had complied while finalising the rule. The finding defines the procedural boundary without announcing the final fate of the rule.[1]
Switzerland will vote on constitutional limits
In Switzerland, a civil alliance of political parties, unions, aid organisations and security figures launched its campaign against the neutrality initiative on 25 August. The text going to a vote on 27 September would constitutionally restrict cooperation with military alliances unless the country is attacked and narrow participation in sanctions lacking a United Nations mandate. SWI swissinfo.ch and the federal government's voting dossier confirm the date and provisions; the campaign opposes the constitutional choice now before voters.[2]
