A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., has granted the Trump administration a temporary victory in its effort to exert greater federal oversight on elections. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a unanimous ruling on Friday, placing a hold on a previous decision by a lower court that had blocked the U.S. Postal Service from restricting mail-in voting processes.
Despite this temporary win, the administration has not yet received final approval to implement the proposed rule. A separate judge in Massachusetts issued an injunction last month that continues to block the policy.
The legal disputes center on a proposed U.S. Postal Service rule that would require states to provide lists of approved voters and impose stricter regulations on mail-in ballots. Postmaster General David Steiner previously informed the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that under the proposed regulation, the Postal Service would refuse to deliver mail-in ballots to states that do not submit their voter lists.
In 2020, the NAACP filed a lawsuit challenging delays in mail-in ballot delivery during that year's presidential election. The Postal Service and the NAACP settled the case in 2021, with the Postal Service agreeing to prioritize the timely delivery of election mail for all national elections through 2028.
The appeals court's Friday ruling stated that the lawsuit might be premature because the rule is not yet finalized and is not covered by the 2021 settlement. The court also indicated that the Trump administration would face irreparable harm if the Postal Service could not finalize and implement the rule in time for upcoming elections, noting that "there can be no do over" once an election has occurred.
While the new rule cannot yet be enacted, the D.C. Circuit's decision suggests the administration might persuade other appellate courts to allow the policy's implementation while legal challenges proceed, potentially extending beyond the November elections.