Overview
- A three‑judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday refused to lift a lower‑court injunction that bars the Postal Service from implementing its August rule for federal mail ballots, leaving the dispute headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
- The USPS final rule would require states to upload voter lists to a USPS portal and use uniquely barcoded ballot envelopes, and it allows the Postal Service to refuse delivery of noncompliant mailings.
- An Office of Inspector General audit dated Sept. 4 found gaps in training, weak ballot tracking and postmarking errors at multiple facilities, which risked incorrect or late postmarks that can lead to ballot rejection.
- State election data and a PPIC analysis show sharp increases in ballots rejected for late postmarks in Washington and Oregon and rising rates in parts of California, with USPS changes explaining roughly 19 percent of the statewide increase in one analysis.
- Election officials are responding by adding drop boxes, urging earlier mailing and offering manual postmarking at post offices, while the administration has filed emergency appeals to the Supreme Court that could determine whether the rule takes effect before November.