A federal appeals court has allowed the USPS to move forward with a new mail‑in ballot delivery rule ahead of the US midterms, warning the agency would suffer 'irreparable harm' if blocked.

On Friday, a three‑judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously paused a lower‑court injunction that had temporarily blocked the USPS from finalising and enforcing the new ballot‑delivery rule.

The rule would permit the Postal Service to withhold delivery of mail‑in and absentee ballots where state officials decline to send certain voter data to federal authorities. In practice, that sets up a confrontation between states determined to guard sensitive voter information and a federal agency now claiming it cannot guarantee accurate ballot delivery without it.

  • IamSparticles@lemmy.zipEnglish
    8·
    6 天前

    Crucially, the court accepted the USPS’s warning that delaying the policy would inflict lasting damage. Once the November vote has come and gone, the judges wrote, ‘there can be no do over’, adopting the agency’s argument that it would be locked into an election cycle under rules it believes are inadequate.

    What about the lasting damage to legitimate voters who won’t be able to vote in the election? That seems far more certain and relevant than any potential damage the USPS might suffer. I’m not even sure I understand what damage that would be.

    • settxy@lemmy.world
      1·
      6 天前

      I believe the ‘harm’ here is that the USPS isn’t allowed to set internal policies for how to operate. Such as the USPS being allowed to set policies on what they can/can’t mail. This might mean that their rules around refusing to ship some items (e.g. explosives, hazmat, air bags, mercury, etc.) might be blocked as that’s not an ‘illegal’ substance or whatever.

      To be clear, I don’t agree with this ruling, since I think this blocks a state’s ability to operate their elections as they see fit. There’s also no reason to block the mail as it’s not dangerous or illegal. So, I think the court missed the mark here.