A second judge blocks Trump’s unconstitutional Executive Order.
Trump’s Voter Suppression Attempt Explained
Before diving into the ruling, let’s recap the magnitude of Trump’s effort to steal the election.
Just Security explains the Mail Ballots Case
Before turning to the Solicitor General’s arguments about the alleged harms to the Government, it’s important to add a few words about the reply brief’s failure to address two discrete but significant things concerning the USPS’ promised “portal” and the USPS’ assessment of outbound ballots—two features that increase the risks of vast disenfranchisement and election chaos.
As I explained in my earlier piece, the USPS Rule would require state and local election officials, before they send out any ballots to voters, to upload the name and address of each person entitled to receive a mail ballot, and two Intelligent Mail barcodes (IMbs) “unique” to that person, to an online USPS “portal.” See Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) § 24.4.2, 91 Fed. Reg. at 54991.
Yet there is no such portal. On Thursday, Sept. 3, the USPS informed the district court that it “anticipated” having the portal up and ready to use “sometime” the next week, which has now come and gone. The Solicitor General filed his reply brief on Thursday, Sept. 10, just before the end of the week. One would naturally have expected the brief to inform the Court about when the portal will be operational. The brief, however, is conspicuously silent on that question.
The second feature in question involves what happens when a state or local election office submits mailings with ballots to USPS for delivery to voters. The USPS Rule would prohibit Postal Service personnel from delivering an outbound ballot to a voter until, inter alia, the USPS confirms that election officials had previously properly “enrolled” that person on the USPS portal, id. §§ 24.5.1, 24.5.2, and that the envelope complies with every one of the new preconditions the USPS Rule would impose (which I describe in my earlier piece), including a perfect match with the voter-specific information and barcodes pre-listed on the “portal.” So, for example, USPS would be required to decline delivery of a properly addressed ballot if the sender did not include the recipient’s name and related information on the USPS portal before the mailing, or if USPS has not yet confirmed that the information is on the portal, or if one of the barcodes on the portal for some reason doesn’t match the barcode on the outgoing envelope.
The Government’s reply brief conspicuously says nothing to rebut or to qualify the plaintiffs’ description about how the USPS system would work. Therefore, it would certainly be appropriate for the Court to presume—contrary to the Solicitor General’s previous representation—that the USPS will not “deliver[] as before” “all” outbound federal-election ballot mail that meets the Rule’s requirements. Rather, it would be fair to presume, as the organizational plaintiffs write, that, under the USPS Rule, “[i]f a single envelope barcode fails to scan for any reason, USPS must reject all ballots submitted in the same mailing, even when that means refusing to deliver thousands or millions of Rule-compliant ballots in the same mailing.”
There is much more in the report for interested parties.
Magnitude of the Executive Order
Blocked Again
I am pleased to report that DC District Judge Carl J. Nichols blocked Trump’s attempt to steal the election.
President Donald Trump appointed Carl J. Nichols as a United States district judge for the District of Columbia.
Court Ruling
Here’s the Court Ruling
Less than three weeks ago, the United States Postal Service adopted a Final Rule requiring that all absentee and mail-in ballots for federal elections—including for the elections occurring in less than sixty days—be transmitted only in envelopes satisfying new design requirements and be transmitted only to voters who are verified by the Postal Service to have been enrolled in a newly created “Federal Ballot Mail Portal.” As the Government concedes, the Postal Service could issue (and enforce) the Rule only if Congress gave it the authority to do so, but here no statute grants the Postal Service the power to issue key parts of the Rule. Plaintiffs have therefore demonstrated that they are likely to succeed on their claim that the issuance of the Rule was ultra vires, and the record otherwise weighs in favor of preliminary injunctive relief. Accordingly, and for the reasons discussed in more detail below, Plaintiffs’ Renewed Motions for Preliminary Injunction against the Rule are granted.
Blocked Twice
Currently two injunctions block the USPS Final Rule on mail-in balloting.
- U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani (D. Mass.) preliminary injunction of Sept. 4, 2026 (upheld by First Circuit Sept. 10), barring enforcement of key mandatory requirements for the Nov. 2026 election.
- U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols (D.D.C.) preliminary injunction of Sept. 13, 2026, blocking the entire Rule as ultra vires due to lack of statutory authority.
Reflections on Cheaters
Poll on Mail-In Voting
Understanding the Threat
Getting to the Point
The issue isn’t whether mail-in ballots are good or bad. The issue is whether the President implements a rule, overriding the Constitutional perogative of the States to run their own elections, after voting has started, that prejudices one side of the vote.
I get accused of all sorts of idiocies on posts like this. But I support the rule of law.
I was against Biden’s attempts to circumvent the Supreme Court on student loans.
And I have been on the right side of numerous unconstitutional efforts by Trump on tariffs, Birthright Citizenship, and now this.
I expect the Supreme Court to weigh in and kill the whole damn thing, not just most of it.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Related Posts
February 20, 2026: Supreme Court Strikes Trump’s Reciprocal Tariffs In 6-3 Vote (I Told You So)
Forgive me for bragging, but I got every justice correct.
June 30, 2026: Trump Loses Birthright Citizenship Case 6-3, Barrett and Kavanaugh in Majority
This was easy but I did get Gorsuch wrong. [Note see addendum on Gorsuch]. …
Somehow, Gorsuch tries to justify the Executive Order while poking a big hole in his own dissent.
So is the practical result of this that Trump can’t steal the election, but the Democrats can? I’ve been around elections for long enough (and often enough) to know that many left-leaning people see it as their duty to steal votes for the leftist party, if they can get away with it. This is a built-in disadvantage that rightist parties and the more intellectual groups have to live with.
I personally don’t see the EO as being unconstitutional. Sure, the constitution says that the States will handle the elections, but where does it say that the States get to use a Federal service to carry out whatever stupid voting idea they come up with? I don’t think the founding fathers could have foreseen such a stupid timeline where mail-in voting is considered legitimate and secure. I’m against almost everything Trump 2.0 has done, but I like that he’s at least forcing this to become a real issue. Mail-in voting simply needs to be outlawed (with the reasonable exceptions for the immobile and deployed servicemen and women).
FYI
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/09/14/us/supreme-court-mail-voting-trump?smid=url-share
Well i was thinking the whole post office thing was just a distraction. But after pondering on it those states would have to cancel mail in voting if the system is not in place. Either way a win for trump.
I think the main fraud will be in places with tight races where the average true believer/ grifters are. Minions on the ground like tina peters. Backed up by maga politicians and da etc. throw in a small vocal group of locals and the fix is in.
Funny you rob a bank you 20 years. Try to over throw democracy or sell you countries secrets costing tax payers millions. You get a slap on the bum.
The people trying to overthrow democracy are those who came up with and support mail-in voting. It’s a preposterous idea, subject to many distortions. How many “this family doesn’t vote for Joe Biden/Donald Trump” conversations were had at the kitchen table? How many nursing home people had their ballots filled in for them? Voting should be done by the individual, in private, ON election day.
Im sure your right. Those talks prob happen somewhere. I bet those house holds have bigger problems than elections though. But how about those people who have to work on election day. How about those people who dont have a polling place within walking distance. I would wager it would affect a lot more voters than abusive households.
The bottom line is the person who is against voting by mail votes by mail. Its pure voter suppression combined with a culture war topic to rally the republican base.
The republican party is losing voters to age. The average poor republican voter is waking up to the fact that republican party policies do not benefit them.
Will avoid the polls this yr.
Get my blank ballot in the mail, fill it out, and return to a local dropbox.
So USPS does not handle my completed ballot.
That’ll work!
55 gallon drum of Mobil 1 Fully Synthetic motor oil now $2300.
How much did it cost a year ago
The 10 year hit 5% this morning. Oil was 109 but back down to 104 now. It’s gonna be a cruel winter…..
I oppose mail-in voting, but I’m with you on upholding the rule of law. I don’t trust the mail-in results.
I see Trump has succeeded.
And I don’t trust people who do not trust the US election system. At all. None of them.
It seems exceedingly credulous to discard even the possibility that – with billions of dollars at stake depending upon election results – there could be any potential problem with voting machines, touch-screen voting, mail-in voting or any of the systems used to tabulate and report results.
Studied to death. Peer reviewed. I do not trust anybody who does not trust the US election system. Biden beat Trump fair and square. According to Trump’s own election expert, one of best run elections ever.
Ya so now do you trust the postal service to deliver your ballot?
If you can, vote in person this year to make sure your ballot is going to be counted.
Nope, I don’t trust ’em. I will vote in person this year. I’m advising everyone I know to do likewise.
Thank you russian bot!
I feel crushed by your staggeringly well-reasoned reply.
In ca the email you when the ballots on the way and email you when your votes been processed.
I could see the USPS simply putting all mail-in ballots in a warehouse somewhere until courts “decide” this. And if DT & Co. keep filing appeals etc., they can drag it out til after the election.
Only unwavering SCRUTINY of the voting and the COUNTING by the public and the police can bring about a fair election. A few lawless districts will be stolen of course, but all the rest will be plenty IF they practice SCRUTINY. This is an absolute necessity if we are to remain a democratic republic.
It is best to let machines do the counting to take human error and bias out of the process. Just have representatives of both parties review the machine’s software to ensure it counts accurately.
@ Quatloo & Arthur Orwell
Agree with your comments on AI chat thread.
Thank you.
Just because Trump steals everything else don’t mean he’ll steal the election. I mean, c’mon, people… /s
If not, it won’t be for lack of effort.
Mish, Your articles are to be read and thought about! Think about the slippage and inaccuracy that could exist from mail in voting. I am an old guy,86
One votes on Election Day in one’s place of registration,
‘Unable to be in that place on Election Day, obtain an Absentee Ballot.
Going to frame this on my wall as the peak example of “demented geezers being too senile to remember what made the formerly great country they ruined so good”
An important development in the ongoing legal dispute over the USPS mail-ballot rule. Regardless of political affiliation, the central question appears to be whether the Postal Service had sufficient statutory authority to impose these requirements and how the rule could affect election administration. Having multiple courts examine the issue should provide useful clarity on the limits of executive and administrative authority before the November elections.
That sounds great. But who exactly is going to enforce any rulings? The DOJ? THE FBI?
Tax payers. No taxation without representation. The US was founded on this principle.