Appeals Court Rejects Trump Bid to Revive Blocked Mail-Ballot Rule Ahead of Midterms

The First Circuit Court of Appeals on Sept. 10, 2026 rejected the Trump administration's bid to lift a lower-court injunction blocking the Postal Service's new mail-ballot rule ahead of the midterms. The three-judge panel, all appointed by President Biden, wrote that the administration had not shown the rule would avoid "chaos and widespread voter disenfranchisement," and found "no record evidence of past fraud or a likelihood of impending fraud" related to the November election.

The panel agreed with U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani that the rule, which requires states to submit voters' names, addresses and individualized barcodes through a USPS portal, likely regulates elections in a manner the Constitution's Elections Clause reserves to states and Congress rather than an executive agency acting alone. The ruling marked the latest defeat for the administration in a monthslong legal fight that has already reached the Supreme Court three times.

The Trump administration's application for a Supreme Court stay of Talwani's injunction remained pending as of publication.