Appeals court rejects Trump request to lift block on Postal Service rule for mail ballots

September 10, 2026 / 1:19 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — A federal appeals court denied the Trump administration's request to lift a lower court's order that blocked new rules for mail ballots before the midterms, the latest twist in a case that has already reached the Supreme Court.

In a nine-page opinion issued Thursday, a three-judge appellate panel in the First Circuit Court of Appeals said that the Trump administration failed to show that the new rule from the U.S. Postal Service would not cause "chaos and widespread voter disenfranchisement" ahead of the November midterms if implemented, as a lower court judge found earlier this month.

"Indeed, appellants have not even seriously challenged this aspect of the district court's ruling, much less demonstrated why it is clearly erroneous," the appellate panel wrote, adding that, contrary to President Trump's long-running claims of mass fraud in mail voting, "there is no record evidence of past fraud or a likelihood of impending fraud related to the November 3 election."

The judges continued that if the new rule were to be implemented, it would "likely result in the disenfranchisement of millions of voters across the country while providing minimal — if any…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/moneywatch/