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League of Women Voters letter on the First Circuit stay denial

League of Women Voters of Massachusetts et al. · 2026-09-10

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Sophia Lin Lakin
                                                                                     Director
                                                                         Voting Rights Project
                                                              ACLU National Legal Department




                                    September 10, 2026

By Electronic Filing
Hon. Scott S. Harris
Clerk of the Court
Supreme Court of the United States
1 First Street NE
Washington, DC 20543

RE:   Trump, et al., v. League of Women Voters of Mass., et al., No. 26A305

Dear Mr. Harris:

       The League Respondents write to inform the Court that the United States
Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued an order today, denying Applicants’
motions to stay the preliminary injunctions issued by the district court in League of
Women Voters of Mass., et al., v. Trump, et al., 26-cv-11549-IT (D. Mass.) (Dkt. No.
285), and California, et al., v. United States Postal Service, et al., No. 26-cv-13917-IT
(D. Mass.) (Dkt. No. 156). The order of the court of appeals in matter nos. 26-2029,
26-2030, 26-2031, and 26-2032 is attached to this letter as Exhibit 1.

Respectfully submitted,

Sophia Lin Lakin
Counsel of Record

cc: All Counsel of Record




        125 Broad Street, Floor 18, New York, NY 10004 | slakin@aclu.org | 212-549-2500

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EXHIBIT 1

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Case: 26-2029    Document: 00118505918          Page: 1      Date Filed: 09/10/2026      Entry ID: 6842300




                     United States Court of Appeals
                                     For the First Circuit
                                        _____________________
      No. 26-2029

       LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF MASSACHUSETTS; LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
         LOTTE E. SCHARFMAN MEMORIAL EDUCATION FUND; LEAGUE OF WOMEN
         VOTERS OF THE UNITED STATES; LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS EDUCATION
           FUND; ASSOCIATION OF AMERICANS RESIDENT OVERSEAS; U.S. VOTE
         FOUNDATION; OCA-ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN ADVOCATES; DELTA SIGMA
                               THETA SORORITY, INC.,

                                           Plaintiffs, Appellees,

                                                     v.

          DONALD J. TRUMP, in the official capacity as President of the United States; UNITED
             STATES POSTAL SERVICE; UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE BOARD OF
       GOVERNORS; DAVID STEINER, in the official capacity as Postmaster General; DOUGLAS
                A. TULINO, in the official capacity as Deputy Postmaster General; AMBER F.
          MCREYNOLDS, in the official capacity as Chairwoman of the Board of Governors of the
       United States Postal Service; DEREK T. KAN, in the official capacity as the Vice Chairman of
        the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service; RONALD A. STROMAN, in the
         official capacity as a member of the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service;
      DANIEL M. TANGHERLINI, in the official capacity as a member of the Board of Governors of
              the United States Postal Service; DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY;
           MARKWAYNE MULLIN, in the official capacity as the Secretary of the Department of
        Homeland Security; SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION; FRANK J. BISIGNANO, in
      the official capacity as Commissioner of the Social Security Administration; U.S. CITIZENSHIP
      AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES; JOSEPH B. EDLOW, in the official capacity as Director of
                                  U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,

                                         Defendants, Appellants,

         STATE OF MISSOURI; STATE OF ALABAMA; STATE OF FLORIDA; STATE OF
      INDIANA; STATE OF KANSAS; STATE OF LOUISIANA; STATE OF MONTANA; STATE
       OF NEBRASKA; STATE OF OKLAHOMA; STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA; STATE OF
                          SOUTH DAKOTA; STATE OF TEXAS,

                                             Defendants.
                                   _____________________________

---

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Case: 26-2029    Document: 00118505918          Page: 2      Date Filed: 09/10/2026      Entry ID: 6842300




      No. 26-2030

       LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF MASSACHUSETTS; LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
         LOTTE E. SCHARFMAN MEMORIAL EDUCATION FUND; LEAGUE OF WOMEN
         VOTERS OF THE UNITED STATES; LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS EDUCATION
           FUND; ASSOCIATION OF AMERICANS RESIDENT OVERSEAS; U.S. VOTE
         FOUNDATION; OCA-ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN ADVOCATES; DELTA SIGMA
                               THETA SORORITY, INC.,

                                           Plaintiffs, Appellees,

                                                     v.

         STATE OF MISSOURI; STATE OF ALABAMA; STATE OF FLORIDA; STATE OF
      INDIANA; STATE OF KANSAS; STATE OF LOUISIANA; STATE OF MONTANA; STATE
       OF NEBRASKA; STATE OF OKLAHOMA; STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA; STATE OF
                          SOUTH DAKOTA; STATE OF TEXAS,

                                         Defendants, Appellants,

          DONALD J. TRUMP, in the official capacity as President of the United States; UNITED
             STATES POSTAL SERVICE; UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE BOARD OF
       GOVERNORS; DAVID STEINER, in the official capacity as Postmaster General; DOUGLAS
                A. TULINO, in the official capacity as Deputy Postmaster General; AMBER F.
          MCREYNOLDS, in the official capacity as Chairwoman of the Board of Governors of the
       United States Postal Service; DEREK T. KAN, in the official capacity as the Vice Chairman of
        the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service; RONALD A. STROMAN, in the
         official capacity as a member of the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service;
      DANIEL M. TANGHERLINI, in the official capacity as a member of the Board of Governors of
              the United States Postal Service; DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY;
           MARKWAYNE MULLIN, in the official capacity as the Secretary of the Department of
        Homeland Security; SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION; FRANK J. BISIGNANO, in
      the official capacity as Commissioner of the Social Security Administration; U.S. CITIZENSHIP
      AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES; JOSEPH B. EDLOW, in the official capacity as Director of
                                  U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,

                                             Defendants.
                                   ______________________________

      No. 26-2031

        STATE OF CALIFORNIA; COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS; STATE OF
       NEVADA; STATE OF WASHINGTON; STATE OF ARIZONA; STATE OF COLORADO;
      STATE OF CONNECTICUT; STATE OF DELAWARE; DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA; STATE
      OF HAWAII; STATE OF ILLINOIS; STATE OF MAINE; STATE OF MARYLAND; STATE
       OF MICHIGAN; STATE OF MINNESOTA; STATE OF NEW JERSEY; STATE OF NEW

                                                   -2-

---

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Case: 26-2029   Document: 00118505918         Page: 3      Date Filed: 09/10/2026     Entry ID: 6842300




      MEXICO; STATE OF NEW YORK; STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA; STATE OF OREGON;
      STATE OF RHODE ISLAND; STATE OF VERMONT; COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA;
         STATE OF WISCONSIN; JOSH SHAPIRO, in the official capacity as Governor of the
                             Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,

                                         Plaintiffs, Appellees,

                                                   v.

        US POSTAL SERVICE; DAVID STEINER, in the official capacity as Postmaster General,
         Chief Executive Officer of the Postal Service, and Member of the Postal Service Board of
       Governors; DOUGLAS TULINO, in the official capacity as Deputy Postmaster General, Chief
      Operating Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer of the Postal Service and Member of the
      Postal Service Board of Governors; AMBER MCREYNOLDS, in the official capacity as Chair
        of the Postal Service Board of Governors; DEREK T. KAN, in the official capacity as Vice
        Chairman of the Postal Service Board of Governors; RONALD STROMAN, in the official
             capacity as a Member of the Postal Service Board of Governors; DANIEL MARK
      TANGHERLINI, in the official capacity as a Member of the Postal Service Board of Governors,

                                        Defendants, Appellants,

         STATE OF MISSOURI; STATE OF INDIANA; STATE OF MONTANA; STATE OF
        LOUISIANA; STATE OF KANSAS; STATE OF NEBRASKA; STATE OF ALABAMA;
       STATE OF FLORIDA; STATE OF TEXAS; STATE OF OKLAHOMA; STATE OF SOUTH
                        DAKOTA; STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA,

                                            Defendants.
                                      ______________________

      No. 26-2032

        STATE OF CALIFORNIA; COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS; STATE OF
       NEVADA; STATE OF WASHINGTON; STATE OF ARIZONA; STATE OF COLORADO;
      STATE OF CONNECTICUT; STATE OF DELAWARE; DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA; STATE
      OF HAWAII; STATE OF ILLINOIS; STATE OF MAINE; STATE OF MARYLAND; STATE
       OF MICHIGAN; STATE OF MINNESOTA; STATE OF NEW JERSEY; STATE OF NEW
      MEXICO; STATE OF NEW YORK; STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA; STATE OF OREGON;
      STATE OF RHODE ISLAND; STATE OF VERMONT; COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA;
         STATE OF WISCONSIN; JOSH SHAPIRO, in the official capacity as Governor of the
                              Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,

                                         Plaintiffs, Appellees,

                                                   v.




                                                 -3-

---

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Case: 26-2029     Document: 00118505918            Page: 4       Date Filed: 09/10/2026         Entry ID: 6842300




          STATE OF ALABAMA; STATE OF FLORIDA; STATE OF INDIANA; STATE OF
         KANSAS; STATE OF LOUISIANA; STATE OF MISSOURI; STATE OF MONTANA;
         STATE OF NEBRASKA; STATE OF OKLAHOMA; STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA;
                     STATE OF TEXAS; STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA,

                                            Defendants, Appellants,

         DEREK T. KAN, in the official capacity as Vice Chairman of the Postal Service Board of
        Governors; AMBER MCREYNOLDS, in the official capacity as Chair of the Postal Service
      Board of Governors; DANIEL MARK TANGHERLINI, in the official capacity as a Member of
      the Postal Service Board of Governors; DOUGLAS TULINO, in the official capacity as Deputy
       Postmaster General, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer of the Postal
          Service and Member of the Postal Service Board of Governors; US POSTAL SERVICE;
      DAVID STEINER, in the official capacity as Postmaster General, Chief Executive Officer of the
       Postal Service, and Member of the Postal Service Board of Governors; RONALD STROMAN,
               in the official capacity as a Member of the Postal Service Board of Governors,

                                                 Defendants.
                                           _____________________

                                                     Before

                                         Gelpí, Rikelman, and Aframe,
                                                 Circuit Judges.

                                             __________________

                                             ORDER OF COURT

                                          Entered: September 10, 2026

               About a week before the States were to begin mailing ballots for the upcoming federal
      election on November 3, 2026, the United States Postal Service (the "Postal Service" or "USPS")
      issued a new rule regulating voting by mail that could prevent millions of Americans from
      obtaining and returning their ballots for that election. See Ballot Mail for Federal Elections, 91
      Fed. Reg. 54966 (Aug. 26, 2026) (to be codified at 39 C.F.R. pt. 111) (the "Final Rule"). Litigation
      ensued that resulted in a preliminary injunction preventing parts of the Final Rule from taking
      effect. The district court concluded that the Final Rule was likely unconstitutional because the
      United States Constitution assigns to the States the authority to administer elections subject to
      alterations imposed by Congress. The court determined that Congress had provided no authority
      for the Postal Service to promulgate a rule that regulates the manner of elections. It also found
      that, as a practical matter, it would be impossible for States to comply with the Final Rule's detailed
      requirements in the time remaining before the November 3 election, thus resulting in the potential
      disenfranchisement of millions of voters across the country. Appellants, various federal officials
      and entities as well as Intervenor States, have filed motions to stay the preliminary injunction. The
      Postal Service also requests an administrative stay. The motions are denied.

                                                       -4-

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Case: 26-2029     Document: 00118505918            Page: 5      Date Filed: 09/10/2026         Entry ID: 6842300




              The preliminary injunction that appellants challenge runs in favor of appellees -- groups of
      States and organizations that have sued to contest the Final Rule's lawfulness. Under the Final
      Rule, ballots would not be delivered to voters unless a voter-specific Intelligent Mail barcode
      ("IMb") printed on outgoing and return ballot envelopes matches the IMb uploaded to a USPS
      database. Compliance with the Final Rule would also require state and local officials to obtain
      USPS approval for new ballot-envelope designs; to purchase new envelopes to replace those
      already ordered; to assure that there are technological systems in place adequate to generate IMbs;
      and to upload voter-specific information to a USPS online portal that is still not operational. The
      district court entered the preliminary injunction after rejecting appellants' challenge to the
      organizational appellees' standing and concluding that: (1) appellees have established a likelihood
      of success on the merits; (2) appellees also have established irreparable harm to themselves and
      those they represent if injunctive relief is denied; (3) the balance of relevant impositions strongly
      favors appellees; and (4) the public interest is served by injunctive relief. See Esso Standard Oil
      Co. (P.R.) v. Monroig-Zayas, 445 F.3d 13, 17-18 (1st Cir. 2006).

              In evaluating whether appellants are entitled to a stay of the preliminary injunction, we
      consider (1) whether appellants have made a strong showing that they are likely to succeed on the
      merits by obtaining vacatur or reversal of the preliminary injunction; (2) whether appellants would
      be irreparably injured absent a stay; (3) whether issuance of a stay would substantially injure the
      other parties interested in the proceeding; and (4) where the public interest lies. Nken v. Holder,
      556 U.S. 418, 425-26 (2009). Appellants bear the burden of showing that the circumstances justify
      an exercise of our discretion to grant a stay. Id. at 433-34.

               Appellants have not demonstrated entitlement to a stay.1 Most prominently, appellants
      have not made a strong showing that the district court erred in determining that the Final Rule is
      likely unlawful. The district court concluded, and we agree, that the Final Rule is likely a
      regulation of the manner of holding elections for members of Congress, which the Elections Clause
      of the Constitution assigns to the States and Congress, and not to an executive agency, such as the
      Postal Service, acting without congressional authorization.2 See U.S. Const. art. I, § 4, cl. 1.
      Appellants seek to avoid the constitutional problem by denying that the Final Rule regulates the
      manner of holding elections. The district court charitably concluded that "[t]his denial rings
      hollow." League of Women Voters of Mass. v. Trump, Nos. 26-cv-11549, 26-cv-13917, 2026 WL
      2620871, at *14 (D. Mass. Sep. 4, 2026). The title of the Final Rule is "Ballot Mail for Federal
      Elections," and the Final Rule explicitly and exclusively regulates election mail. 91 Fed. Reg. at
      54966, 54990-92. It requires action by the States' "chief election official[s]" and its policy
      justification is "protect[ing] the integrity of federal elections." Id. at 54968-69; see also id. at

             1
               Appellants' stay motion before this Court did not grapple with much of the district court's
      reasoning or its factual findings, and thus appellants have failed to meet their burden for disturbing
      any aspect of the district court's preliminary injunction order. Our focus here on certain issues
      merely reflects the emergency nature of the proceeding.
             2
                We confine our likelihood of success analysis to the constitutional claim based on the
      Elections Clause. We therefore do not address the additional statutory claims which the district
      court found were also likely to succeed.

                                                      -5-

---

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Case: 26-2029     Document: 00118505918             Page: 6      Date Filed: 09/10/2026          Entry ID: 6842300




      54966, 54976 (citing Exec. Order No. 14399, titled "Ensuring Citizenship Verification and
      Integrity in Federal Elections," as the source of the policy goals justifying the Final Rule). In short,
      the Final Rule targets election-related mail in a manner that affects the States' management of
      elections, and the Final Rule's asserted purpose relates to election integrity. To label this Final
      Rule as merely a "modest" regulation of the mails is to focus on the trees while ignoring the forest.
              To the extent that appellants argue that we should read statutes authorizing the Postal
      Service to issue general postal regulations as supplying the necessary congressional authorization
      for the Final Rule, see 39 U.S.C. § 401(2) (authorizing USPS to make "such rules and regulations,
      not inconsistent with this title, as may be necessary in the execution of its functions"); id. § 401(10)
      (authorizing USPS to exercise "all other powers incidental, necessary, or appropriate to the
      carrying on of its functions or the exercise of its specific powers"); id. § 404(a)(1) (conferring on
      USPS the power "to provide for the collection, handling, transportation, delivery, forwarding,
      returning, and holding of mail, and for the disposition of undeliverable mail"), their argument
      likely fails. Appellants have not convinced us that it is likely that Congress would delegate
      constitutionally assigned tasks relevant to maintaining our electoral system to the Postal Service
      through the "wafer-thin reed" of a general grant of authority to manage the postal system. Biden
      v. Nebraska, 600 U.S. 477, 499 (2023). As appellees point out, Congress historically has been
      explicit in its exercise of authority under the Elections Clause when it seeks to displace the
      background assumption that the States will act as the primary regulator of elections. The general
      authority on which appellants rely here is far removed from that sort of specific congressional
      action.

              While the failure to make a strong showing of a likelihood of success on the merits is
      sufficient to deny the stay motions, appellants also have not met their burden to show that the
      balance of equities favors stay relief. As to irreparable harm, another requirement for a stay, the
      district court's finding that the Final Rule could not be presently implemented undermines
      appellants' claim that they are harmed by an injunction preventing parts of the Final Rule from
      immediately going into effect. Moreover, appellants have failed to meet their burden to show that
      the "issuance of the stay will [not] substantially injure the other parties interested in the
      proceeding" and the public interest. Nken, 556 U.S. at 426 (quoting Hilton v. Braunskill, 481 U.S.
      770, 776 (1987)). Appellants have not shown that the district court abused its discretion in
      determining that any harm to them would be substantially outweighed by the injury that would be
      caused to appellees and to the public interest, including the millions of Americans who vote by
      mail, were the Final Rule to take effect for the November 3 election.

              In this regard, the district court made detailed findings about the chaos and widespread
      disenfranchisement that would occur between now and November 3 should the Final Rule take
      immediate effect, including the fact that it would be impossible for some States to reprint compliant
      envelopes; the likely delays in the required USPS envelope review process; the lack of a presently
      operative portal; and the herculean task that would confront the USPS in scanning tens of millions
      of ballot envelopes and reviewing for a match with information in the presently non-operative
      portal. There is no countervailing record evidence disputing the district court's findings on these
      points. Indeed, appellants have not even seriously challenged this aspect of the district court's
      ruling, much less demonstrated why it is clearly erroneous. And moreover, there is no record
      evidence of past fraud or a likelihood of impending fraud related to the November 3 election.
      Thus, we see no obvious error in the district court's conclusion that allowing this Final Rule to be

                                                       -6-

---

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Case: 26-2029     Document: 00118505918            Page: 7       Date Filed: 09/10/2026         Entry ID: 6842300




      effective for the soon-arriving November 3 election will likely result in the disenfranchisement of
      millions of voters across the country while providing minimal -- if any -- gains in combating voter
      fraud.
              Finally, appellants have not demonstrated that the preliminary injunction is unduly broad
      on the basis that the appellee organizations lack standing. Here, we confine our analysis to whether
      the district court properly found that the appellee organizations have organizational standing,
      because that conclusion is sufficient to support the scope of the injunction. To establish
      organizational standing, a plaintiff "must show [injury] 'far more than simply a setback to the
      organization's abstract social interests.'" FDA v. All. for Hippocratic Med. ("Hippocratic"), 602
      U.S. 367, 394 (2024) (quoting Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman, 455 U.S. 363, 379 (1982)). Nor
      can a plaintiff "spend its way into standing" by asserting that it has had to incur costs "opposing
      [the] polic[y]" being challenged, either through litigation or advocacy. Id. at 394-95; see also
      Equal Means Equal v. Ferriero, 3 F.4th 24, 30 (1st Cir. 2021) ("[A]n organization cannot establish
      standing if the 'only injury arises from the effect of a challenged action on the organizations'
      lobbying activities, or when the service impaired is pure issue-advocacy.'" (alteration adopted)
      (quoting PETA v. U.S. Dep't of Agric., 797 F.3d 1087, 1093-94 (D.C. Cir. 2015))). A plaintiff
      can establish organizational standing, however, by alleging that the challenged actions "directly
      affected and interfered with [the plaintiff's] core business activities" beyond issue-advocacy -- if,
      for instance, the challenged actions "perceptibly impair[]" a housing nonprofit's counseling and
      referral services. Hippocratic, 602 U.S. at 395 (quoting Havens Realty, 455 U.S. at 379).

              Here, the appellee organizations have shown exactly that. The Final Rule does not merely
      require the appellee organizations to spend money advocating against the policy change; it
      interferes with the provision of their core services: conducting voter-registration drives; translating
      election-related materials; and educating the public on how to vote, including by mail. The district
      court specifically found -- based on the unrebutted declarations submitted by the appellee
      organizations -- that "[t]he chaos engendered by the Final Rule's immediate deadlines is
      significantly interfering with [the appellee organizations'] mission to provide [their] members with
      accurate and reliable information about how to vote, including by mail," such that the appellee
      organizations "do not know whether to advise their members to vote by mail, despite legal
      entitlement, due to the high risk of disenfranchisement." League of Women Voters of Mass., 2026
      WL 2620871, at *11. For example, appellee League of Women Voters asserts that it will have to
      "updat[e] and reprint[] a range of educational resources that have already been distributed . . . and
      creat[e] new educational resources to update materials that have also already been distributed via
      video and social media." Appellee OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates likewise will need to
      "recruit substantially more volunteers to provide in-person language assistance" and pay for
      expedited translations of already finalized voter guides. The Final Rule will also force the appellee
      organizations to pause, delay, or otherwise scale back planned activities. The state chapters of the
      League of Women Voters, for instance, have had to "cut back on the information they provide to
      avoid providing inaccurate or incomplete information" and have "paused the printing of voter
      education materials that reference absentee and mail voting procedures." Appellee Delta Sigma
      Theta has similarly had to "cut back on the information [it] provide[s], to avoid providing
      inaccurate or incomplete information" and "to delay education and outreach" efforts.
             Appellants do not address these findings in their briefs. Instead, they attempt to cast the
      appellee organizations' activities as "merely engaging in public advocacy and public education

                                                       -7-

---

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Case: 26-2029     Document: 00118505918           Page: 8       Date Filed: 09/10/2026        Entry ID: 6842300




      regarding governmental action." But this argument ignores the preliminary injunction record, the
      nature of the appellee organizations' injury, and the Supreme Court's holding in Hippocratic.
      Unlike the medical associations in Hippocratic, whose alleged injury consisted of "incurring costs
      to oppose [the] FDA's actions" including by "drafting citizen petitions to [the] FDA," 602 U.S. at
      394 (emphasis added), the appellee organizations do not merely allege that they are engaging in
      education regarding the Final Rule itself. Rather, they claim they are engaging in education about
      how to register and cast ballots in light of the Final Rule. In other words, their "public advocacy
      and public education" are directed not at the challenged governmental action (i.e., the Final Rule)
      but at voting in general. Id. Appellee organizations' efforts to counsel their members and the
      public on how to vote under the Final Rule are no more "issue advocacy" than were the "counseling
      and referral services for low- and moderate-income homeseekers" in Havens Realty.3 Hippocratic,
      602 U.S. at 395 (quoting Havens Realty, 455 U.S. at 379); see also Republican Nat'l Comm. v.
      N.C. State Bd. of Elections, 120 F.4th 390, 397 (4th Cir. 2024) (concluding that Hippocratic did
      not bar standing when organization's "core mission includes counseling interested voters and
      volunteers on election participation including hosting candidate and voter registration events,
      staffing voting protection hotlines, investigating reports of voter fraud and disenfranchisement").
      We thus see no likely error in the scope of the injunction given the breadth of injury that was
      appropriately before the district court. 4

             The motions for a stay are denied. The USPS's request for an administrative stay is denied
      as moot.

                                                            By the Court:

                                                            Anastasia Dubrovsky, Clerk

      cc: Hon. Indira Talwani, Robert Farrell, Clerk, United States District Court for the District of
      Massachusetts, Brenda Wright, Jessie J. Rossman, Adriel I. Cepeda Derieux, Leah C. Aden, Niyati
      Shah, Miranda Galindo, Theresa J. Lee, Sophia Lin Lakin, Suzanne Schlossberg, Clayton Pierce,
      Ming Cheung, Ethan Herenstein, William Miles Hughes, Wendy Weiser, Eliza Sweren-Becker,
      Andrew B. Garber, John Spencer Cusick, Sarah Brannon, Jonathan J. Topaz, Davin McKay
      Rosborough, Noah Baron, Ejaz H. Baluch Jr., Isabel Sara Rohani, Justin Lam, Donald Campbell
      Lockhart, Rayford A. Farquhar, Abraham R. George, Laura Myron, Jennifer Utrecht, Sophia
      Shams, Michael Velchik, Stephen Michael Pezzi, Esam Al-Shareffi, Michael S. Polito, Ian D.
      Prior, Louis Joseph Capozzi III, Graham Miller, John Michael Patton, Benjamin S. Gilberg,
      Alexander Barrett Bowdre, David M.S. Dewhirst, Jason J. Muehlhoff, James A. Barta, James R.
      Rodriguez, J. Benjamin Aguinaga, Christian B. Corrigan, Cody S. Barnett, Garry M. Gaskins II,

             3
                  We recognize that the Court in Hippocratic characterizes Havens Realty as an "unusual
      case" specific to its context. 602 U.S. at 396. But this too is an unusual case, and the context here
      is, in our view, indistinguishable from Havens Realty for relevant purposes.
             4
                  We note that the preliminary injunction does not bar voluntary compliance by States
      with the Final Rule; nor does it prohibit the Postal Service from continuing with the Final Rule's
      implementation for elections after November 2026, including by creating the portal and training
      staff on the Final Rule's requirements.

                                                      -8-

---

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Case: 26-2029    Document: 00118505918          Page: 9      Date Filed: 09/10/2026       Entry ID: 6842300




      Joseph David Spate, Grant Michael Flynn, Monroe David Bryant Jr., Brandon Michael Hayes,
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      Malcolm Andreas Brudigam, Michael Surren Cohen, Robert William Setrakian, David C. Kravitz,
      Jared B. Cohen, Vanessa Arslanian, Gerard J. Cedrone, Phoebe Lockhart, Julia S. Canney, Kiel
      Ireland, Cristina Sepe, Karl D. Smith, Tera M. Heintz, Syreeta Tyrell, Kara M. Karlson, Karen J.
      Hartman-Tellez, Shannon Wells Stevenson, Peter Baumann, Maura Bridget Murphy, Vanessa L.
      Kassab, Ian R. Liston, Karthik P. Reddy, Kalikoonalani Diara Fernandes, Alex Hemmer, Vikas
      Didwania, Katherine Thompson, Virginia Anne Williamson, Neil Giovanatti, Angela Behrens,
      Lindsey E. Middlecamp, Allen Barr, Meghan Musso, Jonathan B. Mangel, James Grayson, Bailey
      Colfax, Colleen K. Faherty, Judith N. Vale, Daniel Paul Mosteller, Thomas H. Castelli, Megan
      Rok, Ryan P. Kane, Tillman J. Breckenridge, Megan C. Keenan, Lynn Kristine Lodahl, Michael
      J. Fischer, Bradley Hinshelwood, Kelsey L. Smith




                                                   -9-
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