On September 14, the Supreme Court denied the government’s emergency stay request, leaving Talwani’s injunction in place. The Court said the government was unlikely to succeed in challenging the injunction and that the equities did not warrant emergency relief. Justice Brett Kavanaugh concurred separately, saying USPS may have statutory authority to adopt such a rule but that implementing it during the 2026 election would be arbitrary and capricious because election officials lacked adequate preparation time. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented. The rule therefore remains blocked for the 2026 midterm election.
² Reuters reported that administration officials explored ways to bypass the Election Assistance Commission, including consideration of emergency authority to impose voting-system changes. The proposal was discussed but not implemented. Trump fired the commission’s two Democratic members; the lone Republican commissioner resigned, leaving no commissioners. EAC staff continue existing functions, but the absence of a quorum prevents new business requiring commission action.
³ The administration has asked the Supreme Court to restore the expanded use of DHS’s SAVE citizenship-verification system after lower courts blocked it over reliability and disenfranchisement concerns. SAVE itself supplies citizenship-status information to government users; state officials determine whether and how that information affects voter-registration eligibility.
⁴ DOJ has pursued detailed state voter-registration information through litigation and instructed officials in 29 states and the District of Columbia to preserve 2024 election records. DOJ has federal investigative and enforcement authority but does not administer state voter rolls or count state ballots.
⁵ Trump’s Aug.31 notice continued for one year the national emergency originally declared in Executive Order 13848 concerning foreign interference in or undermining public confidence in U.S. elections. The existing emergency primarily operates through sanctions and related authorities directed at foreign interference. Public reporting does not establish that the separate emergency-power proposal involving the EAC relied on Executive Order 13848.
⁶ The White House says approximately 8,000 policy-influencing positions were placed into Schedule Policy/Career. The positions remain career, merit-based jobs but are at-will; the administration says employees may be removed for reasons including “subversion of Presidential directives.” The executive order also requires implementation consistent with applicable law.
Bibliography
1. • U.S. Postal Service. “Ballot Mail for Federal Elections.” Final Rule, August 26, 2026.
2. • Reuters. “Trump’s mail-in voting restrictions blocked by a second judge.” September 14, 2026.
3. • Reuters. “US appeals court rejects Trump mail-in ballot restrictions as Supreme Court considers rule.” September 10, 2026.
4. • Supreme Court of the United States. United States Postal Service, et al. v. California, et al. , No. 26A305. Order denying application for stay; Kavanaugh, J., concurring; Alito, J., joined by Thomas, J., dissenting. September 14, 2026.
5. • Reuters. “In loss for Trump, US Supreme Court won’t let Postal Service restrict mail ballots.” September 14, 2026.
6. • Reuters. “Trump officials sought ways to sidestep election agency before firings, sources say.” July 11, 2026.
7. • Reuters. “Trump asks Supreme Court to allow voter verification database that was blocked by judge.” September 8, 2026.
8. • Associated Press. “Justice Department directs states to hold on to 2024 election records as it seeks their voter data.” September 11, 2026.
9. • President Donald J. Trump. “Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Foreign Interference in or Undermining Public Confidence in United States Elections.” August 31, 2026; Federal Register publication September 2, 2026.
10. • U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control. “Foreign Interference in a United States Election Sanctions.”
11. • The White House. “Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Increases Accountability in the Federal Workforce.” June 3, 2026.
12. • President Donald J. Trump. Executive Order 14410, “Implementing Schedule Policy/Career in the Excepted Service.” June 3, 2026.