--- title: What to Know About the USPS’s Rule for Mail-In Ballots description: The United States Postal Service has finalized new mail-in ballot requirements, but two injunctions block their use in the midterms. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/08/23/what-to-know-about-the-usps-s-rule-for-mail-in-ballots/ author: Rebecca Schneid article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-08-23T18:11:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-23T19:29:49.516Z article:section: Politics og:title: What to Know About the USPS’s Rule for Mail-In Ballots og:description: The United States Postal Service has finalized new mail-in ballot requirements, but two injunctions block their use in the midterms. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/08/23/what-to-know-about-the-usps-s-rule-for-mail-in-ballots/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7bca803e13cfa9f/6a8b3959e14b9703ac1d23c3/GettyImages-2290038701.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: GettyImages-2290038701.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What to Know About the USPS’s Rule for Mail-In Ballots twitter:description: The United States Postal Service has finalized new mail-in ballot requirements, but two injunctions block their use in the midterms. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7bca803e13cfa9f/6a8b3959e14b9703ac1d23c3/GettyImages-2290038701.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What to Know About the USPS’s Rule for Mail-In Ballots > Sponsored content. 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Marcin Golba—NurPhoto  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Aug 23, 2026 6:11 PM UTC The United States Postal Service (USPS) on Friday issued a 95-page final [rule](https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-17238.pdf) that it plans to implement immediately if the government obtains relief from two existing injunctions. It would require [USPS](https://time.com/article/2026/04/10/usps-pension-contributions-mail-stamp-prices/) employees to verify that outbound federal ballot mailings comply with new envelope, barcode, and data-reporting requirements before accepting them from election officials. The rule was designed to comply with President Donald Trump’s [executive order](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/ensuring-citizenship-verification-and-integrity-in-federal-elections/) from March 31\. It directs the [Department of Homeland Security](https://time.com/article/2026/08/19/ice-is-asking-gate-agents-to-help-arrest-passengers-some-are-pushing-back/), in coordination with the [Social Security Administration](https://time.com/article/2026/06/10/social-security-retirement-medicare-disability-fund-trump/), to compile and send lists of adult citizens in each state. Separately, it directs USPS to establish state-specific lists of people to whom election officials intend to send mail-in or absentee ballots, along with unique ballot-envelope identifiers. A ​pair of court ‌orders blocks the rule from implementing the rule before midterm elections in November. **Read More:** [_Trump’s Order Restricting Mail-In Voting Rebuked by States_](https://time.com/article/2026/04/01/trump-executive-order-mail-in-voting-states-rebuke-legal-challenge/) ## About the two injunctions blocking Trump’s mail-in voting order Two injunctions bar USPS from implementing its new rule. They were issued by Massachusetts U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani on June 25 and Aug. 11\. #### **What the June Injunction Covers** A coalition of 23 states, along with the District of Columbia, filed a lawsuit on April 3 seeking to [block](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.298518/gov.uscourts.mad.298518.1.0%5F2.pdf) Trump’s executive order, arguing that the President does not have the authority to dictate state voting practices. In June, the presiding judge granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs, finding two sections of the order unlawful and constitutionally invalid. It barred federal agencies from implementing those sections against plaintiff states and D.C. for elections held on or before Nov. 3\. It also blocked USPS from refusing to transmit ballots based on whether voters appeared on the new state-specific lists. #### **What the August Injunction Covers** Voting-rights groups brought a separate lawsuit against the Trump Administration [on April 2](https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/voting-rights-groups-challenge-executive-order-on-mail-in-ballots-as-illegal-interference-in-elections), claiming the executive order was unconstitutional, “dangerous,” and could disenfranchise eligible voters. It resulted in the August injunction, which bars USPS from implementing, enforcing, or giving effect to the executive order’s mail-voting provisions for any elections ahead of or on Nov. 3\. It also prohibits USPS from completing the specified rulemaking for those elections. Talwani wrote that the executive order was “causing confusion and threatening both increasing chaos and an erosion of trust in our democracy.” She also concluded that “the executive branch has no authority to regulate elections.” Critics of the executive order have echoed that concern, saying that the Trump Administration is looking to force federal oversight on elections even though the duty is [enshrined](https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S4-C1-2/ALDE%5F00013577/) to states and Congress in the Constitution. “Yesterday’s new mail-in voting rule is an attempt to weaponize USPS as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to take over elections,” Michael McNulty, the senior policy director for government-reform nonprofit Issue One, said in a statement [Saturday](https://issueone.org/press/trump-administrations-usps-rule-would-undermine-states-authority-over-mail-in-voting/). McNulty argues that the rule would shift postal workers “from neutral transporters of a state-led process to a federal gatekeeper of states’ outbound mail ballots.” However, the USPS has asserted in the final rule that the requirements “do not amount to election administration, nor do they usurp state resources.” “Rather, they regulate the use of the mail to improve operational efficiency and support the faithful execution of federal law,” it says within the rule. ## Voting-rights groups challenge the USPS mail-in ballot rule A coalition of voting-rights organizations has [filed an emergency motion](https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/voting-rights-organizations-seek-to-enforce-injunction-against-mail-voting-executive-order) asking the federal district court to enforce its Aug. 11 injunction against USPS. The plaintiffs argue that issuing an immediately effective final rule, intended for possible use in November, violated the injunction. USPS acknowledged that it would not implement the final rule for the 2026 election unless the government obtains relief from both injunctions. However, the coalition argued that USPS issued the rule in violation of the Aug. 11 injunction, without seeking a stay or filing an appeal. It also said that USPS could have given the rule an effective date that falls after the 2026 midterms without violating the injunction, while the “immediate” effective date could sow “chaos” and “confusion” ahead of November. “Enforcement of the court’s preliminary injunction is necessary to hold this administration accountable for its unlawful action and make clear that voters can confidently cast their mail ballot free from federal interference this November,” said a [statement](https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/voting-rights-organizations-seek-to-enforce-injunction-against-mail-voting-executive-order) on behalf of the plaintiffs, which includes the League of Women Voters, Association of Americans Resident Overseas, and the U.S. Vote Foundation. Postmaster General David Steiner defended the rule when it was proposed in June, [saying](https://time.com/article/2026/06/25/postal-service-not-to-deliver-mail-ballots-to-states-unless-they-hand-over-voter-data/) at a Senate hearing that he “would think that states would want the information to ensure that the ballots that they think they’re sending out are the ballots that are actually getting sent out.” TIME has reached out to USPS for comment. In late July, the Trump Administration asked the Supreme Court to stay the June 25 injunction while its appeal proceeds. After Talwani issued the Aug. 11 injunction, the Administration urged the justices to address that second order as well through the pending proceeding—an approach the plaintiff states opposed. But unless the Aug. 11 injunction is separately stayed or lifted, or the Supreme Court expressly addresses it, it continues to bar USPS from implementing its new rule for the midterm elections. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/08/23/what-to-know-about-the-usps-s-rule-for-mail-in-ballots/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/08/23/what-to-know-about-the-usps-s-rule-for-mail-in-ballots/"},"headline":"What to Know About the USPS’s Rule for Mail-In Ballots","datePublished":"2026-08-23T18:11:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-23T19:29:49.516Z","description":"The United States Postal Service has finalized new mail-in ballot requirements, but two injunctions block their use in the midterms.","url":"https://time.com/article/2026/08/23/what-to-know-about-the-usps-s-rule-for-mail-in-ballots/","keywords":["Trump Administration","Voting","Mail","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7bca803e13cfa9f/6a8b3959e14b9703ac1d23c3/GettyImages-2290038701.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rebecca Schneid","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7bca803e13cfa9f/6a8b3959e14b9703ac1d23c3/GettyImages-2290038701.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-2290038701.jpg","caption":"","creditText":"Marcin Golba—NurPhoto","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/trump-administration/","name":"Trump Administration"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/08/23/what-to-know-about-the-usps-s-rule-for-mail-in-ballots/","name":"What to Know About the USPS’s Rule for Mail-In Ballots"}}]}] ```