Overview
- U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a nationwide preliminary injunction on Tuesday that prevents the Postal Service from implementing Section 3 of President Trump’s March executive order for the Nov. 3, 2026 midterm elections.
- The executive order would have had DHS and other agencies compile lists of eligible voters and required the USPS to deliver mail ballots only to people on state or federal lists with official markings and unique barcodes.
- Talwani found the administration likely exceeded its authority, writing that the executive branch lacks power to regulate elections and noting the order is causing voter confusion with less than 90 days before the election.
- The Justice Department urged the Supreme Court to act quickly to stay the lower‑court rulings, arguing delays would prevent the government from implementing the order before ballots are mailed.
- Legal and operational fallout could be abrupt: courts are split, states say they cannot safely retool ballot mailing systems on short notice, and the dispute raises questions about USPS’s neutral carrier role and potential disenfranchisement for mail‑dependent voters.