The US Supreme Court refused Monday to allow new US Postal Service (USPS) rules governing federal election ballot mail to take effect ahead of November midterm elections.
The justices denied the government’s request to lift a lower-court injunction blocking the rules.
“The Government is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to the District Court’s preliminary injunction,” the court said in the order.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed with the decision, saying state and local election officials did not have enough time to implement the requirements before the elections.
Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, arguing that the government had shown the rules were within USPS’s authority and should be allowed to take effect.
The ruling leaves the new mail-in ballot requirements blocked while the underlying legal challenge continues.
In April, President Donald Trump intensified his push to reshape US election rules, signing an executive order aimed at establishing state voter eligibility lists and directing the USPS to limit mail-in ballots to verified voters.
Trump on Monday reiterated his pledge that Republicans would pursue a $5,000 payment for adult US citizens if the party wins control of both chambers of Congress.