President Donald Trump’s proposed mail-in ballot rule change will not take effect before the November elections.
The Supreme Court on Monday night blocked a new U.S. Postal Service rule from taking effect during the coming election. The federal government asked the high court to stay a lower-court ruling that didn’t go its way on Sunday. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson offered the denial.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh concurred, adding that “applying the rule in the 2026 elections would be arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act because state and local election officials do not have sufficient time to reasonably implement the rule before the elections.”
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Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, saying USPS has the general authority on how the mail is handled.
“Hail Mary pass”
Other justices in the case have referred to the joint plaintiffs’ arguments as a “Hail Mary pass” that rarely succeeds, something Alito and Thomas noted. Regardless, judges have acknowledged that implementing the rule on such short notice would certainly disrupt the election process in states that have already mailed out ballots.
Alabama, North Carolina and Wisconsin had already begun sending mail ballots, and more are set to follow suit this week. The Postal Service issued the rule Aug. 21, just weeks before some states were scheduled to begin sending ballots.
A series of challenges in multiple districts held up efforts to implement the rule in court, including rulings in Boston and Washington.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes called the Monday night opinion a major win for the rule of law.
“The federal government has no authority to upend how elections are run weeks before voting starts,” she said.
