US Postal Service chief David Steiner said the agency has stopped work on a computer system central to Trump’s new federal mail-ballot requirements
The move follows the Supreme Court’s refusal to lift a lower-court injunction blocking implementation of the USPS rule
Steiner said USPS would not enforce the new ballot-mail verification requirements during the 2026 federal election while the injunction remains in place
The US Postal Service has stopped work on a computer system designed to verify outbound federal ballot mailings after the Supreme Court on Monday denied the Trump administration's request to suspend a lower-court injunction blocking implementation of the USPS rule.
“There’s an injunction so we’re not doing anything,” Postmaster General David Steiner told AP on Thursday. He said USPS would not enforce the new requirements during the 2026 federal election.
The Supreme Court case concerned a preliminary injunction issued by the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts on September 4. In its Monday order, the Supreme Court denied the government's request for a stay, saying the government was unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to the injunction and that the factors required for emergency relief did not favour a stay. Justice Brett Kavanaugh concurred, while Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.
Trump's Mail Voting Plan
The dispute stems from Trump's March 31 executive order, which directed the federal government to establish state citizenship lists using federal records and other databases and directed USPS to establish standards for federal mail-in and absentee ballots.
The order directed USPS to require federal mail ballots to use specified envelopes and unique Intelligent Mail barcodes. It also provided for state-specific lists of people receiving mail-in or absentee ballots.
The final USPS rule published on August 26 established the Federal Ballot Mail Portal. Under the rule, authorised state officials would submit a voter's name, address and unique barcodes through the portal. USPS would then review outbound federal ballot mail before accepting it and could return mailings that did not meet the requirements.
Portal Draws Scrutiny
The system came under scrutiny after an anonymous whistleblower disclosure to Senator Richard Blumenthal's office alleged that USPS had developed the portal on an accelerated timetable without meaningful testing. The disclosure also alleged that the agency had adopted a zero-per-cent failure threshold that could result in ballot mailings being rejected, with concerns over the absence of an adequate appeals process.
USPS disputed the characterisation of its work. In a September 1 statement, the agency said it had spent months developing the portal and was finalising it, while verification procedures were not being performed because of court orders. USPS said the portal would allow election officials to share lists of people receiving ballots by mail.
On September 4, Steiner said USPS had acted within its legal authority and would follow the courts' determination. He said the rule was intended to establish standards for federal ballot mail while election officials remained responsible for election administration.
With the Supreme Court declining to lift the injunction, USPS will not enforce the new verification requirements for the 2026 federal election, according to Steiner's comments to AP.
