Judge blocks USPS mail-ballot rule for 14 days before midterms
Why it matters: The order stops the Postal Service from refusing ballots from states that cannot meet new federal tracking rules.
A federal judge temporarily blocked a new U.S. Postal Service rule that would tighten requirements for mail-in ballots ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani on Thursday paused the rule for at least 14 days after Democratic state attorneys general challenged it in court. The finalized rule would require states to attach voter information to a unique barcode on every mailed ballot and enter that data into a federal ballot mail portal. The USPS had said it would not deliver ballots from states that failed to comply. Talwani wrote that the states faced irreparable harm because compliance was likely unconstitutional and practically impossible with the election little more than two months away.