Well, would you look at that: somebody at the Moakley Courthouse checked the Constitution before letting the Post Office turn election administration into a half-baked app rollout.
On September 4, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a preliminary injunction barring the U.S. Postal Service from implementing mandatory portions of its new federal mail-ballot rule for elections through the November 3 midterms.
The rule would have required states using mail ballots to meet USPS design and voter-data requirements, including uploading and certifying voter information through a USPS portal before using federal mail. The court found the challengers were likely to prevail on claims that the rule intrudes on election powers reserved to states and Congress, exceeds USPS authority, and effectively creates a new category of mail the agency can refuse to carry. That is a lot of constitutional machinery to shove into a mail slot, pal. Read the order.
The ruling replaces Talwani’s earlier temporary restraining order. Associated Press reported that the preliminary injunction arrived as states began sending out mail ballots, while the administration’s fight over the restrictions continues. So the immediate result is simple enough even after two Michelobs: the Postal Service cannot enforce these mandatory changes for the 2026 midterms while the case proceeds. AP reporting.
For Massachusetts, it is also a rare bit of local civics relief: Boston did not invent this mess, but Boston’s federal court just told Washington it cannot jury-rig the rules of an election at the last minute and call it postage. Grab some onion rings. The seagulls can wait.
Sources
- https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/26/26A297/423197/20260904190024616_26A297%20Letter%20re%20Preliminary%20Injunction.pdf
- https://apnews.com/article/f26ad8d666cc1d38fcce78df4612a24d
From the Dick Bulger channel
No new channel videos landed in this 12-hour window.
Featured image: John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse September 2024.jpg by 4300streetcar, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
