The US Supreme Court this week rejected the Trump administration’s request to allow new US Postal Service requirements for mail-in ballots to take effect ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, leaving a lower court injunction in place while litigation continues.
The September 14 order marks the latest turn in a months-long legal fight over federal efforts to change how states administer mail-in voting. For the upcoming election, USPS will continue handling ballot mail without enforcing the new requirements while courts consider the underlying legal challenge.
The dispute stems from an executive order issued in March directing USPS to develop new requirements for ballot mail in federal elections. USPS issued its final rule in late August, requiring ballot envelopes to include an election-mail logo, accommodate high-speed scanning, and carry a barcode unique to each voter, while also requiring states to submit envelope designs for USPS review and upload basic voter information through a federal portal.
As previously reported on Conduit Street, Maryland joined a multistate lawsuit challenging the USPS rule shortly after its release. The coalition argued that the requirements exceeded USPS authority, conflicted with state election laws, and came too late for election administrators to implement safely ahead of the November election.
A federal district court subsequently issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the final USPS rule from taking effect. The federal government then asked the Supreme Court to stay that injunction while its appeal proceeds.
On September 14, the Supreme Court denied that request, finding that the government was unlikely to succeed in its challenge to the preliminary injunction and that the other factors required for emergency relief did not favor a stay. The ruling leaves the USPS requirements blocked for the 2026 elections.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh concurred, writing that while USPS may ultimately have statutory authority to issue the rule, implementing it for the 2026 elections would violate federal administrative law because State and local election administrators do not have enough time to reasonably implement the changes. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented and would have granted the government’s request.
For Maryland, that means election administrators will not have to make the new envelope, barcode, and voter-information changes ahead of the November election. The underlying litigation over the USPS rule will continue.
Stay tuned to Conduit Street for more information.
Useful Links
US Supreme Court Order – United States Postal Service v. California (September 14, 2026)
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