An election worker moves mail-in ballots to be organized for tabulation in the City of Industry, Calif., on June 2, 2026. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction on Sept. 13 that blocks the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from enforcing its requirements to tighten mail-in voting rules.
Under the rule, states must supply the agency with lists of mail ballot recipients, and all outbound and return ballot envelopes must bear unique barcodes. It also allows the Postal Service to refuse to deliver ballots that do not comply with the new standards.
“The key portions of the rule exceed any conception of the outer bounds of these authorities,” Nichols said in the ruling.
“Nothing in the Postal Reorganization Act authorizes the Postal Service to impose new election procedures on state election officials, to create a data collection system for mail-in and absentee voters, or to refuse the transmission of lawful mail because it fails to meet these data collection requirements.”
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The Trump administration previously said the executive order would help to keep federal elections honest.
The judge on Sunday also found that the rule would increase the risk that a significant number of otherwise appropriate absentee or mail-in ballots would not be counted in the upcoming elections.
“The harm of untransmitted ballots—both to voters and candidates—is irreversible, because ‘once the election occurs, there can be no do-over and no redress,’” Nichols said.
The Epoch Times reached out to USPS for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
A U.S. Postal Service (USPS) post office near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles on Feb. 5, 2025. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
The Supreme Court is currently considering the government’s appeal of the order.
Matthew Vadum and Naveen Athrappully contributed to this report.
