[UPDATE] DOJ asks the Supreme Court to unblock the USPS mail-ballot rule, one day before ballots go out
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson gave states until Tuesday to respond.
The administration told the Supreme Court that Judge Indira Talwani's block on the Aug. 21 rule — which includes a federal portal for voter data — risks "sowing confusion," while election officials say the requirements cannot be implemented before the first state starts mailing ballots on Sept. 4.
PREVIOUSLY
On Sept. 1, a federal judge left the new Postal Service mail-ballot requirements blocked, finding the agency likely had no authority to issue the rule at all, and set a Sept. 3 hearing on a longer freeze.
- USPS published the rule on Aug. 21, 2026.
- The first state begins mailing ballots to voters Friday, Sept. 4, 2026.
- Jackson set a Tuesday deadline for states to respond.