Judge Talwani blocks postal ballot policy as Indira Talwani weighs whether to extend her ban on the U.S. Postal Service requiring states to use a new mail balloting system for the midterms. The Boston hearing on Thursday comes the day before the first state begins sending mail ballots to voters.
Talwani imposed a 14-day temporary restraining order last week, and that order expires next week as more states begin sending out mail ballots. She is now considering a preliminary injunction that would keep the Postal Service from making the new system a requirement while the case continues.
Indira Talwani in Boston
In June, Talwani prohibited the administration from trying to implement President Donald Trump’s order for the November election. Late last month, the Supreme Court ruled that her earlier order was premature because the Postal Service had not yet published regulations governing how it would apply the order.
The Postal Service published those regulations just before the Supreme Court ruling came down. Democrats and voting rights groups then re-filed their lawsuits, arguing that the president has no authority to set election rules.
USPS regulations and lawsuits
The dispute now turns on whether Talwani will keep the current block in place long enough for the lower court to decide the wider challenge. If she grants a preliminary injunction, the Postal Service would remain barred from requiring states to use the new system for the midterms while the case moves ahead.
If she does not, the 14-day order ends next week even as more states begin sending ballots. The hearing on Thursday gives Talwani the chance to decide whether the new regulations can take effect during the run-up to mail voting or whether the existing restraint stays in place.
Mail ballots and next week
For states preparing to send mail ballots, the timing is the immediate issue: the first mailing begins the day after Thursday’s hearing, and the temporary order ends next week. Will Judge Indira Talwani extend the ban after Thursday’s hearing?
