Mail‑In Voting Rules Suspended Ahead of November Election

The Supreme Court’s unsigned order effectively pauses the Postal Service’s new absentee ballot envelope standards for the 2024 midterm elections. Under the proposed rules, each state would have to create a redesign featuring a barcode unique to every voter, obtain federal clearance, and upload voter information to a new Postal Service portal. Ballots failing to meet those standards would be returned to the issuing state.

Election officials in North Carolina, which had already mailed roughly 300,000 absentee ballots, argued that the changes could not be implemented so close to Election Day. Attorney General Jeff Jackson declared that "the election has started, and rules cannot be altered mid‑process." Republican officials in Utah and Michigan praised the court’s move, saying it clarified the legal landscape. Two justices dissented, asserting that the Postal Service possesses broad power to regulate mail delivery and that the agency had not clearly exceeded its authority.