Updates About Lower Court Rulings

Recently, the United States Supreme Court refused the federal government’s attempt to place restrictions on U.S. Postal Service main-in ballots ahead of the November election.

In an unsigned order, the Court denied the Trump administration’s emergency request to suspend a preliminary injunction issued by a lower court that had blocked the administration’s attempted rule changes. The order was not a final ruling on the USPS authority to hand down restrictions; but instead, allows all states to keep their current mail-in voting procedures and prevents any restrictions for the 2026 election while the legal battle is ongoing.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote separately that the USPS likely has the authority to implement the restrictions but questioned whether the changes could be implemented before the election given the limited timeframe. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas were the only two justices to publicly dissent from the Court’s order.

The original rule change issued by the USPS would have made immediate changes to mail-in voting just over two months before the election date. The changes would have required states to enroll every eligible mail ballot voter with the Postal Service, which would use that data to create state voter rolls. Under the changes, states would have needed Postal Service approval for outgoing and return ballot envelope designs, in which each ballot would have its own unique barcode. The USPS would then have the ability to refuse the delivery of ballots if the voter was not included on its lists or if the envelopes did not meet the new requirements.

This week, both the Michigan and U.S. Supreme Courts rejected separate legal challenges that sought to put a proposed constitutional amendment addressing citizenship verification and voter identification on the November election ballot, ending the initiative’s chances this year.

The group behind the initiative, Americans for Citizens Voting Michigan, submitted nearly 710,000 signatures, well above the 446,198 required to be considered. However, upon review of a random sample of the signatures, the Bureau of Elections determined the campaign fell three valid signatures short for validity. The Board of State Canvassers then deadlocked over whether additional voter affidavits should be counted.

The group subsequently asked both courts to intervene and place the proposal on the ballot. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene and did not state why. The Michigan Supreme Court declined to order the Board of State Canvassers to certify the proposal, and suggested that the Legislature review state law governing the timing and process for petition signature reviews.

Former State Representative Pamela Hornberger has been appointed to run as the Republican nominee in the 63rd House District. The incumbent, Jay DeBoyer, vacated the ticket when he was selected as John James’ choice for lieutenant governor.

Hornbeger received six of the ten votes from the Republican Party executive committee members representing Macomb and St. Clair counties. The other four votes went to contractor, and friend of DeBoyer, Mike Grover.

The selection followed a legal dispute over who was eligible to participate in the nomination process. Earlier Wednesday, St. Clair County Circuit Judge Cynthia Lane rejected a request from the Michigan Republican Party to allow the full Macomb and St. Clair county executive committees to vote. The decision limited participation to executive committee members who reside within the 63rd District.

Hornberger previously served in the Michigan House from 2017 through 2022 and was speaker pro tempore during the 2021-2022 legislative session.