U.S. Supreme Court rejects Trump's bid to restrict mail-in ballots ahead of November midterms

The justices denied the Justice Department's request to lift a ruling by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston that blocked the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing the measure while legal challenges by states and voting-rights groups proceed. The agency adopted the measure after Trump issued a March executive order aimed at tightening rules governing mail voting.

"The government is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to ​the District Court's preliminary injunction," the court said in its brief, one-paragraph order.

Justice Samuel Alito, ​joined by fellow conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, dissented from Monday's decision, comparing some of the challengers' claims to a "Hail Mary pass" that is "unlikely to be successfully completed," using a football analogy.

"The Postal Service has broad authority to regulate the mail," Alito added.