Justice Jackson Sets Sept. 8 Deadline in Trump Appeal to Lift Mail Voting Block

3 articles · Updated · Democracy Docket · Sep 3

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson gave challengers until Tuesday, Sept. 8, to answer the Trump administration’s emergency Supreme Court bid to lift a temporary block on USPS’s new mail voting rule.
The administration is seeking both a stay pending appeal and an immediate administrative stay, arguing ballot mailings are imminent—North Carolina starts Friday and Alabama on Sept. 9.
Jackson, who handles emergency matters from the 1st Circuit, has not granted immediate relief, leaving Judge Indira Talwani’s 14-day restraining order in place for now.
Talwani is separately weighing a preliminary injunction after a Boston hearing where she pressed DOJ over delays, USPS authority and whether the ballot-rule portal is even ready.
If Talwani issues that broader injunction soon, it could supersede the temporary order now before the Supreme Court and force the administration into a fresh emergency appeal.