USPS Issues Mail-Ballot Rule Despite Court Block

The voting rights groups told Talwani the Postal Service "flouted" her order. They argued the government could have simply specified that the rule would not take effect until after the midterms, but instead wants the restrictions in place for November.

"The issuance of the Final Rule with immediate effect will also sow widespread confusion among election officials and the public, thereby undermining voter confidence and disrupting the administration of elections," they wrote Saturday.

The administration called the two-business-day turnaround "an unnecessarily short period of time to prepare and file a response to the remarkable accusation that the United States is violating a court order." It stressed the rule applies to the midterms only if the government "obtains relief from all outstanding court orders."

Sauer told the Supreme Court the rule "imposes only modest requirements for preparation and envelope design for federal ballot mail" and said it "underscores the need for relief" from Talwani's injunction, which he said "seriously overstepped the bounds of longstanding Article III standing and ripeness principles."

In her Sunday order, Talwani said it was the government that created an emergency by posting the rule Friday night after the courts closed.

The states and groups suing argue Trump has no authority to rewrite state election rules — the Constitution gives that power to the states or to Congress, which has not passed the changes Trump wants.