Origin: Trump administration seeks to lift block on USPS ballot rules

On Sept. 4 the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to lift a lower‑court order that blocks new U.S. Postal Service requirements for mail ballots. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson declined to grant an immediate pause of that order and told challengers to respond by Sept. 8. North Carolina began mailing absentee ballots the same day.

The blocked USPS rule would require states to upload the names, addresses and barcode data of intended mail‑ballot recipients to a federal portal and to use approved, trackable envelopes. USPS could refuse to deliver ballots from jurisdictions that do not comply.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said forcing compliance this close to November would be practically impossible and would cause irreparable harm to election officials. At a hearing she noted she had no Postal Service declaration explaining how the portal would work and pressed whether the program was even ready; none of the 12 states supporting the rule said they would voluntarily submit voter data.

The administration frames the rule as routine mail regulation to deter fraud rather than federal control of elections. A Supreme Court stay would allow USPS to begin enforcing the requirements while the broader legal fight continues.

AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources