A U.S. appeals court has denied Donald Trump’s request to block new rules from the U.S. Postal Service that would impose stricter requirements on mail-in voting ahead of November’s midterm elections. The First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Boston, refused to put on hold a lower court’s order that prevented the Postal Service from enforcing the new regulations. This comes after the U.S. Supreme Court also rejected Trump’s attempt to introduce new voting requirements, despite the president’s frequent criticism of mail-in voting, which he himself used during the 2020 election. In a nine-page decision, a three-judge panel in the First Circuit said the Trump administration did not provide sufficient evidence that the Postal Service’s new rules would lead to chaos or widespread voter disenfranchisement before the November elections. The judges emphasized that the administration had not effectively challenged the lower court’s ruling, nor had it shown that the court’s decision was clearly wrong. The panel also dismissed Trump’s claims of widespread fraud in mail voting, stating there was no evidence of past fraud or a likelihood of fraud in the upcoming election. The panel warned that implementing the new rules could result in the disenfranchisement of millions of voters with little benefit in preventing fraud. The three judges, all appointed by President Joe Biden, concluded that the Trump administration had not proven it was entitled to a delay in the lower court’s decision. They also noted that the Postal Service’s authority to regulate mail-in voting was not clearly supported by law, as the responsibility for election rules lies with states and Congress, not executive agencies. The new Postal Service rule requires states and localities to meet specific design standards for mail ballots, including unique barcodes, and to use an online portal to submit information about voters who plan to mail their ballots. The rule also mandates that postal workers review and verify ballots, with non-compliant mailings being returned to election offices. A U.S. District Judge had previously issued a preliminary injunction blocking the rule, citing concerns that it could lead to significant voter disenfranchisement. The Trump administration has appealed this decision to both the First Circuit and the Supreme Court, which has yet to decide whether to pause the injunction. The Trump administration has now asked the Supreme Court for the third time to intervene in the case. In recent filings, the Solicitor General argued that the new rule is a legitimate use of the Postal Service’s authority to regulate envelope design and address information. The court has not yet ruled on the administration’s request to delay the injunction.