A federal judge has blocked new mail-in ballot rules from the U.S. Postal Service that were ordered by President Donald Trump. The rules would have required election officials to add unique barcodes to ballot envelopes and order states to upload lists of people who requested them, giving the postal agency expansive authority to decide who gets to vote. Massachusetts District Judge Indira Talwani issued a preliminary injunction on Friday evening blocking the changes while a legal battle plays out. The Trump administration had asked the Supreme Court for permission to push the changes through as the president faces another major obstacle in his attempts to centralize control of the nation's elections.
The new rules were part of an executive order signed by President Trump in March, which also required the Department of Homeland Security to develop lists of adult U.S. citizens in each state and for the postal service to refuse to deliver mail-in ballots when state election officials don't turn over these lists. However, states and election officials had warned that it would be "virtually impossible" to comply with changes that could spark chaos for voters in the middle of midterm elections.
As a result of the blockage, North Carolina became the first state to start sending out mail-in ballots for November's US midterm elections on Friday, as Donald Trump's administration fights to impose sweeping restrictions on the practice before millions of Americans cast their votes. Other states set their own timelines, ranging from a few weeks before election day to similarly early starts, meaning most will follow in the coming days and weeks.
The Supreme Court is still considering the Trump administration's request to let it revive the rule barring the postal service from delivering ballots in states that don't share voter data with the federal government.
