Supreme Court Won't Revive Trump's Mail Ballot Rule. L.A. Mails Ballots Oct. 5.

Justices Alito and Thomas dissented, while Kavanaugh said election officials lacked time to carry out the Postal Service rule.

The Supreme Court refused to let the Postal Service enforce its mail-ballot rule, leaving a district court's preliminary injunction in force. The order was entered September 14, 2026, on the emergency docket in United States Postal Service, et al. v. California, et al., No. 26A305, the Court's own docket shows. It's unsigned, and the majority gave two sentences of reasoning.

For anyone voting in Los Angeles County, the date to write down is October 5, 2026 — the day the county starts putting ballots in the mail. Those ballots move under the rules already in force. The one the government wanted in effect isn't among them.

The docket records the stay application as presented to Justice Jackson, referred by her to the full Court, and denied. The reasoning, in full:

The Government is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to the District Court's preliminary injunction. And the equitable factors applicable for obtaining emergency relief from this Court do not favor a stay.

That's all of it.

Two justices would have granted the stay. Justice Alito, joined by Justice Thomas, dissented, the Associated Press reported, writing that the Postal Service “has broad authority to regulate the mail.” The wire put the order late Monday, September 14, 2026. A docket entry the same day shows the application being referred to the full Court before the denial came down.

Justice Kavanaugh concurred, and his objection was to the calendar rather than to the rule. He wrote that there is “at least a fair prospect that the final rule falls within the Postal Service's statutory authority,” NPR reported. Enforcing it this year would be arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act, he added, because state and local election officials don't have enough time to put the rule into practice before this year's elections, the outlet reported.

What the order isn't: a decision on whether the rule is lawful. The government asked for emergency relief from a preliminary injunction and didn't get it, and California is the named respondent on the application it lost.

Los Angeles County's ballots go out October 5, 2026.

Source: courtlistener.com.