U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani has issued a new preliminary injunction stopping the U.S. Postal Service from implementing key mail-ballot provisions of President Trump’s executive order for the November 2026 midterms.
The order, issued August 11 in a case brought by the League of Women Voters and other voting-rights groups, bars USPS and its top officials from enforcing Section 3 of Executive Order 14399. That includes refusing to transmit mail-in or absentee ballots or completing rulemaking on the specific regulations outlined in the order. The injunction covers the midterms, but does not prevent USPS guidance or recommendations on ballot envelopes.
This ruling is separate from Talwani’s earlier injunction in a lawsuit by 23 states and D.C. That prior order protects only those jurisdictions and is currently before the Supreme Court after the First Circuit declined to stay it. Two administration requests to lift it remain pending. The new injunction stands independently, even if the justices lift the earlier one, this order still blocks USPS from carrying out the mail-ballot rules for the midterms.
Talwani rejected the administration’s argument that courts should wait for a final USPS rule. She found the dispute ripe now because of the proposed rule, steps already taken toward finalization, and the fast-approaching election. On the merits, she again concluded the USPS provisions are likely unconstitutional, writing that the executive branch “has no authority to regulate elections” and that the Elections Clause assigns that power to the states and Congress.
Read the Court Ruling
