Bucks County mail-in voters can plan on casting ballots as usual this fall after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked President Donald Trump's effort to restrict voting by mail.

The high court ruled Tuesday, Sept. 15, that the government is unlikely to win its legal challenge to a lower court order freezing the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) rule. The brief, one-paragraph order came one day after a second federal judge independently froze the same rule.

U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, issued a preliminary injunction Monday, Sept. 14, barring the Postal Service from enforcing the restrictions. The Democratic Party and groups including the NAACP had sought the injunction.

"No statute grants the Postal Service the power to issue key parts of the rule," Nichols wrote in his ruling, as reported by WHYY.

Nichols found the rule could prevent legitimate mail-in ballots from being counted. He had declined to block the rule in May, saying the lawsuit was premature. After the Postal Service published its final rule on Aug. 21, plaintiffs refiled, giving Nichols grounds to act.

The USPS rule, stemming from an executive order Trump signed in March, would have required states to upload the identities of mail-ballot recipients into a federal online portal. Ballot envelope designs would have needed pre-approval from the Postal Service, and envelopes would have required unique barcodes.

Election officials said the requirements were impossible to implement this close to a general election. Mail ballots were already being sent in Alabama, North Carolina and Wisconsin at the time of Nichols' ruling.

Supreme Court weighs in

The Supreme Court's Tuesday ruling denied the Justice Department's request to lift a separate injunction issued Sept. 4 by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston. A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had already upheld Talwani's order on Thursday, Sept. 10, as WHYY reported.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a conservative, sided with the majority but left the door open for a future challenge. He wrote that enforcing the rule for the 2026 elections would be "arbitrary and capricious," according to the BBC. Kavanaugh also wrote there was "at least a fair prospect" the rule falls within the Postal Service's authority, signaling the court may revisit the issue after November.

The legal fight may not be over.

Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, with Alito comparing the challengers' claims to a last-ditch effort unlikely to succeed, CBC reported.

What it means for Bucks County

Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said Thursday, Sept. 10, that the state's mail ballot voting laws remain unchanged despite the federal legal battle, according to the New Hope Free Press. Nearly two million Pennsylvanians used mail-in ballots in 2024.

The Bucks County Board of Elections has approved four new temporary satellite offices for on-demand mail-in voting, expected to open in early October, according to Patch. The offices will bring the total number of locations where voters can apply for and receive a mail-in ballot in one visit to seven. Each will also handle voter registration and include a secure ballot drop box. The main Board of Elections office remains open at 55 E. Court St. in Doylestown.

Voters can request a mail-in ballot at their county office until Oct. 27. Ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3.