Federal Appeals Court BLOCKS Trump Admin from Reinstating New Mail-in Ballot Rules

In a nine-page opinion issued Thursday, a three-judge appellate panel in the First Circuit Court of Appeals said that the Trump administration failed to show that the new rule from the U.S. Postal Service would not cause “chaos and widespread voter disenfranchisement” ahead of the November midterms if implemented, as a lower court judge found earlier this month.

“Indeed, appellants have not even seriously challenged this aspect of the district court’s ruling, much less demonstrated why it is clearly erroneous,” the appellate panel wrote, adding that, contrary to President Trump’s long-running claims of mass fraud in mail voting, “there is no record evidence of past fraud or a likelihood of impending fraud related to the November 3 election.”

The judges continued that if the new rule were to be implemented, it would “likely result in the disenfranchisement of millions of voters across the country while providing minimal — if any — gains in combating voter fraud.”

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BREAKING: As we await SCOTUS, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals rejects the Trump administration's bid to reinstate its mailin ballot rule for the midterms, warning it could disenfranchise millions. https://t.co/r5LBbmZI23 pic.twitter.com/je0o6aHJW2

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) September 10, 2026

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Talwani, an appointee of former President Obama, has blocked Trump’s order three times during litigation. The Supreme Court overturned her initial block on Aug. 24, ruling Talwani had no authority to rule on a suit Democratic-led states brought against the order before the Postal Service implemented it.

Days later, Talwani barred the administration from going ahead with the mail-in voting restrictions for at least two weeks, ruling the group of blue states and voting rights organizations were likely to succeed in their claims that the policy was unconstitutional.

That was far from the end of the dizzying legal fight over Trump’s executive order. The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Sept. 3 asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on Talwani’s two-week block.

Before the justices could rule on the DOJ’s request, Talwani blocked the Postal Service from implementing the president’s order for a third time on Friday. That led to Solicitor General D. John Sauer sending an updated request to the Supreme Court on Sunday.

In a 40-page emergency application, Sauer argued the administration is likely to succeed on the merits of the cases concerning the policy.

“The Rule ensures that States remain responsible for determining voter eligibility and eligibility to vote by mail, and it does not dictate ballot content, mailing or receipt deadlines, or ballot-counting procedures,” he wrote.

The Supreme Court, which is on recess, will decide the case in an expedited fashion. But complicating matters is the fact that officials in Delaware and North Carolina, two of the states that sued the administration, have already begun mailing ballots to residents.

Seven Republican state election officials have also urged the justices to prevent the administration from implementing the order ahead of Election Day.

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