Speakers<\/h3>\n
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- \n
- Ethan Herenstein<\/strong>, Staff Attorney, ACLU Voting Rights Project<\/li>\n
- John Cusick<\/strong>, Assistant Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense Fund<\/li>\n
- Justin Lam<\/strong>, Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice Voting Rights and Elections Program<\/li>\n
- Niyati Shah<\/strong>, Senior Director of Litigation, Asian Americans Advancing Justice<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\nRuling Preserves Existing Mail Ballot Systems<\/h4>\n
The Supreme Court\u2019s 7-2 order denies the federal government\u2019s request to lift a preliminary injunction against the USPS rule, effectively preserving the existing mail ballot system through the midterms. While litigation continues over the underlying executive order issued on March 31, the immediate blocking order ensures that states can continue using their current ballot envelopes and tracking systems without jumping to a federally mandated portal. The court\u2019s decision highlights both the legal limits of postal service authority over election administration and the practical impossibility of overhauling an intricate national voting infrastructure less than two months before polls close.<\/p>\n
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote separately to note that election officials simply did not have enough time to reasonably implement the new requirements. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, but the majority\u2019s focus remained on the imminent risk of voter confusion and disenfranchisement. \u201cThe bottom line for the November elections is simple: the new USPS restrictions are blocked,\u201d Herenstein said at Tuesday\u2019s briefing. \u201cUSPS cannot refuse to deliver mail ballots, and mail voting remains safe and reliable to use.\u201d<\/p>\n
For voting rights organizations, the rule represented a fundamental shift in how election mail would be processed nationwide. Under the proposed mandate, every state and local jurisdiction would have been required to upload voter names, addresses, and barcodes to a new federal portal. Ballots that failed exact data matches or featured non-approved envelopes would reportedly be withheld from delivery. Critics argued this created an unprecedented bottleneck in the voting process, turning the Postal Service into a gatekeeper rather than a neutral delivery mechanism.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there wasn\u2019t a perfect match, if a single barcode failed to scan properly, if an envelope was not designed just right, the Postal Service refused to deliver that ballot,\u201d Herenstein said. The portal itself was still under development when the rule was announced, leaving election officials with no functional system to comply with. \u201cWith the midterm elections around the corner, the Postal Service was literally unable to implement this new unprecedented program in time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Operational Realities Across Election Jurisdictions<\/h4>\n
The operational reality matched legal concerns across more than 10,000 election jurisdictions. Most had already finalized, ordered, and printed their mail-in ballot materials for the upcoming election. A Justice Department lawyer conceded during a September 3 hearing that the required tracking portal did not exist in working form, while a USPS official acknowledged the same through a formal declaration. The American Postal Workers Union filed an amicus brief warning that career postal employees lacked both training and guidance to execute such a sweeping mandate. An anonymous federal whistleblower further cautioned that launching an untested system so close to Election Day could trigger catastrophic operational failure.<\/p>\n
\u201cWeeks before a national election, the Postal Service tried to make itself the gatekeeper of every ballot in the country,\u201d Cusick said. \u201cThe rule landed less than 70 days before Election Day.\u201d He emphasized that local election officials and union workers alike consistently described the mandate as impossible to execute under the given timeline. \u201cThe only thing this rule was guaranteed to stop was lawful votes \u2026 When the people building the system say it\u2019s going to fail, believe them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond logistics, the blocked rule carried significant equity implications for historically marginalized and geographically isolated voters. Mail voting remains a critical access point for elderly residents, people with disabilities, rural communities, college students living away from home, and non-English speakers navigating complex election rules. Among Asian American voters in particular, roughly half cast ballots by mail in the 2024 general election\u2014far exceeding the national average. For mixed-status families who rely on secure, independent voting processes, mail-in options provide a vital layer of privacy and protection from potential immigration-related complications.<\/p>\n
\u201cMail voting can be an electoral lifeline for voters in mixed-status families, who can cast a ballot \u2018on your own terms, in your own time,\u2019\u201d Shah said. She warned that confusion and fear remain intentional tactics in political messaging designed to suppress turnout. \u201cThere is a lot of confusion and fear, and that is one of the goals of this administration,\u201d she continued. \u201cThey want to create that sense of confusion and fear. And it\u2019s important not to give in to that, because then they win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Advocates stressed that while the Supreme Court\u2019s interim order preserves access for now, long-term voting rights will depend on ongoing litigation and policy advocacy. The federal government still plans to seek a permanent injunction against the underlying rule, meaning the legal battle over mail ballot standards is far from over. \u201cThat order won\u2019t be the final word,\u201d Herenstein said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to continue to seek a permanent injunction. But given the Supreme Court\u2019s order and its conclusion that the Postal Service likely lacks authority to issue this regulation, we remain confident that we will prevail.\u201d<\/p>\n
Until courts reach a final ruling, election officials and voting rights groups are urging voters to act early and verify their options. Residents should confirm their current registration address, review state-specific mail ballot deadlines, request absentee ballots well in advance, track their mail-in submissions online where available, and prepare a backup in-person or drop-box plan. Nonpartisan Election Protection hotlines remain active to assist voters in multiple languages: 866-OUR-VOTE (English), 888-VE-Y-VOTA (Spanish), 888-API-VOTE (Asian languages), and 844-YALLA-US (Arabic).<\/p>\n
\u201cMail voting has been in this country since the Civil War,\u201d Shah said. \u201cAlmost every state has some form of mail and absentee voting, so use it to the extent it is available in your state, without fear, for this election.\u201d Lam echoed that sentiment, calling the ruling a necessary rejection of coordinated efforts to undermine public confidence. \u201cYou should make a plan to vote, and you should vote early if you can,\u201d he said. \u201cEither in person, using a secure drop box or by mail, because \u2018nobody can lawfully prevent your mail ballot from getting to you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
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Images courtesy of American Community Media <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nearly one-third of Americans voted by mail in the previous general election, and that number is poised to grow as voters face rising uncertainty about ballot delivery. A new federal requirement mandating standardized mail-in envelopes, mandatory barcode scanning, and a centralized tracking portal threatened to disenfranchise eligible voters just weeks before the midterm elections. Voting…<\/p>\n
- John Cusick<\/strong>, Assistant Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense Fund<\/li>\n