Second federal judge freezes Trump mail ballot order with US Supreme Court poised to weigh in, tell me about this news in (https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/09/14/federal-judge-trump-mail-ballot-order/)

Late Sunday, U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols in Washington, D.C., issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing new regulations based on President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting mail-in voting ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. AP NewsKey Details of the Ruling

• Second Federal Injunction: Judge Nichols (an appointee of Donald Trump) became the second federal judge to halt the policy, joining U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston (an appointee of Barack Obama), who also barred the Postal Service from enforcing the rules. AP News
• The Judge’s Rationale: In granting the injunction, Judge Nichols wrote that without a court order, there was an increased risk that a significant number of otherwise valid mail-in ballots would go uncounted in the upcoming elections, emphasizing that the public has a strong interest in preventing voter disenfranchisement. AP News
• The Challenged Regulations: The Postal Service rules, issued on August 21, required state election authorities to have all mail-in ballot envelope designs pre-approved by the USPS and to upload the identities of ballot recipients into an online portal that officials noted was still inactive. AP News
• Pushback from Officials and Postal Workers: State election administrators argued that implementing these sweeping changes so close to an election was virtually impossible, particularly with ballots already being mailed out in states such as Alabama, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. Postal worker unions also pushed back, asserting that USPS employees should not be tasked with verifying voter eligibility. Additionally, a congressional whistleblower warned that the policy could disenfranchise millions of voters. AP News+ 1
• Supreme Court Review: The Trump administration has already appealed the earlier Boston injunction to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is now poised to decide whether the administration may enforce its mail-in ballot restrictions before the midterms take place. AP News