Supreme Court left the block on Trump's mail-ballot USPS rule in place
The US Supreme Court refused to lift Judge Indira Talwani's block on a US Postal Service rule before the November 2026 midterms. Al Jazeera said the rule followed President Donald Trump's March executive order. Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, wrote that some plaintiffs lacked standing. HuffPost said the order sought barcodes on all mail ballots and federal voter lists, and that some states had already mailed ballots.
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Talwani's block stands before the midterms
Al Jazeera said the conservative-majority court refused to lift Judge Indira Talwani's block on a US Postal Service rule adopted after President Donald Trump's March executive order seeking tighter mail-in voting rules. The court declined to stay that order before the November 2026 midterms. Al Jazeera framed the decision as a blow to Trump's effort to restrict voting by mail. Justice Brett Kavanaugh voted with the majority. Democrat-led states had brought the challenge.[1]
Alito and Thomas: standing and a Hail Mary
Justice Samuel Alito, joined in dissent by Justice Clarence Thomas, wrote that some plaintiffs lacked standing and the rest were pursuing a claim the court had called a Hail Mary pass. HuffPost said that in the Monday night ruling the two justices dismissed the impacts of the overhaul. A coalition of Democrat-led states had sued.[1], [2]
Barcodes and lists, with ballots already in the mail
HuffPost said Trump's March executive order called on the US Postal Service to implement individualized barcodes on all mail ballots and the submission of lists of mail voters to the federal government. Some states had already mailed ballots to voters for the midterms. A late federal barcode-and-list rule would have landed after ballots were already in the mail. The barcode was meant to track each ballot; the list would have carried names of mail voters to the federal centre. The midterm calendar left little room.[2]
