Judge Talwani Forced to Lift Mail-In Ballot Injunction After Supreme Court Rebuke

Adriana Stone 0 2 min read

Judge Talwani Forced to Lift Mail-In Ballot Injunction After Supreme Court Rebuke

Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani has lifted her nationwide injunction blocking new Postal Service safeguards for federal mail-in ballots.

The move came after the Supreme Court rejected a separate injunction tied to the same election-order fight. The Justice Department then asked Talwani to reconsider her own ruling. On Wednesday, she issued a nine-page order lifting the freeze.

Talwani acknowledged that the League of Women Voters plaintiffs are “not likely to prevail as to ripeness” unless they revise their complaint now that the Postal Service has issued a final rule.

The ruling did not read like a change of heart. Reporting around the order said the Supreme Court’s decision “compelled” Talwani to lift the injunction. At the same time, she continued to warn that President Trump’s election-integrity directive could create “chaos.”

The result is clear: The injunction is down, and the USPS rulemaking can move forward.

Talwani had previously accused the Postal Service of “violating” her injunction by completing the rulemaking after the Supreme Court allowed that process to continue. She also accused the administration of having “feigned complete compliance,” even though the final rule stated that USPS would not implement the 2026 changes until the injunctions were lifted.

President Trump signed Executive Order 14399 on March 31. The order directed the Department of Homeland Security, working with the Social Security Administration, to compile state-by-state lists of confirmed U.S. citizens age 18 and older.

It also directed the Postal Service to handle federal ballot mail under uniform security rules. Those rules include official Election Mail markings, unique Intelligent Mail barcodes, and state-submitted lists identifying voters receiving the ballots.

The stated goal is straightforward: better tracking, fraud reduction, and making sure the right ballot reaches the right eligible voter.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to stay Talwani’s companion injunction in the case brought by blue-state attorneys general. According to the source report, the justices found that the states had sued too early and that the injunction was causing real harm to the executive branch.

That ruling allows DHS to proceed with the citizenship lists. It also allows the attorney general to prioritize cases involving officials who send federal ballots to ineligible people. USPS rulemaking is no longer frozen by Talwani’s order.

The final USPS rule, “Ballot Mail for Federal Elections,” requires states that want the Postal Service to carry their federal mail ballots to use approved envelope standards and submit information through the Federal Ballot Mail Portal.

  • Name of the person receiving the ballot
  • Address
  • Unique barcode on the outbound envelope
  • Unique barcode on the return envelope
  • Originating state

Ballots that do not meet the standard can be rejected and returned to election officials for correction. States that refuse to follow the requirements will not be able to use the U.S. mail as an unaccountable ballot pipeline.

That is the safeguard now moving ahead after the Supreme Court’s rebuke and Talwani’s decision to lift her nationwide block.

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