Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration's Mail-Ballot Regulations Pending Supreme Court Review

A federal district judge issued an order on Thursday that temporarily blocks an executive order issued by the Trump administration requiring the United States Postal Service to adopt extensive new regulations for voting by mail. The order follows a prior injunction that was lifted by the Supreme Court earlier this week.

The case, League of Women Voters v. Trump, relies on the “major questions doctrine,” a legal principle the Court has used to require clear congressional authorization for agency actions of significant economic or political impact. The judge argued that the new USPS rules impose a level of bureaucracy that could make it impossible for many states to comply, effectively curtailing mail voting in jurisdictions that rely heavily on the practice.

"We expect Congress to speak clearly if it wishes to assign to an agency decisions of vast ‘economic and political significance,’" the Supreme Court stated in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA, the 2014 decision that first articulated the doctrine.

If the Court applies the doctrine to the Trump administration, the three Republican justices who have previously endorsed its use in cases involving Biden—Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Neil Gorsuch, and Justice Amy Coney Barrett—could join the three Democratic justices in striking down the regulations. The remaining Republican justices have expressed reservations about extending the doctrine to a fellow party member.

The contested regulations would require states to use specially designed envelopes for mail ballots that must be pre-approved and individually scanned by the Postal Service, a process the administration claims would take less than a minute per piece. Critics note that states such as California, which must mail tens of millions of ballots, would face a logistical burden that could exceed decades of staff time.

The administration cites broad statutory authority allowing the USPS to adopt rules necessary for its functions and to manage mail handling. However, under the major questions doctrine, courts may deem such vague authorizations insufficient for actions of “vast political significance.” The pending Supreme Court review will determine whether the doctrine will be applied to limit the executive branch's power in this context.