Court Allows USPS to Advance Ballot Voter Data Rule

A federal appeals court has cleared the U.S. Postal Service to proceed with a controversial rule that would condition the delivery of mail-in ballots on states sharing voter data with the federal government, creating a patchwork of election rules ahead of the November midterms. The decision, issued on July 18, 2026, by a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, temporarily lifts a nationwide injunction that had blocked the rule.

The panel unanimously stayed an injunction issued earlier in July by U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan. The judges found the Postal Service made a strong showing that it would likely succeed on arguments that legal challenges to the proposed rule were premature and that the rule fell outside the scope of a 2021 legal settlement with the NAACP. The court also agreed that the agency would suffer irreparable harm if prevented from finalizing and implementing the rule before the November election, noting there can be no "do-over" once the election has occurred.

The proposed rule stems from Executive Order 14399, which President Donald Trump signed in March 2026. The order directs the Department of Homeland Security to compile state...