Thomas joins Alito’s dissent seeking a stay
Clarence ThomasSupreme Court associate justice, joining the dissent
Thomas joins the position that enforcement should be allowed during the appeal.
“Recorded action: Thomas expressly joined Alito’s dissent in favor of granting the government’s stay request.”
Original text
Where this statement fits
Should Trump’s new mail-in voting restrictions apply to the 2026 midterms?
USPS’s new federal ballot-mail rule requires election officials to meet envelope standards, enroll voters through a federal portal and submit outgoing ballots for verification. The Trump administration argues these are lawful anti-fraud postal controls. Challenging states and civil-rights organizations say USPS is intruding into state-run elections and that the late rollout threatens voters’ access. On September 14, the Supreme Court left a temporary block in place for the 2026 election. Alito and Thomas would have allowed enforcement; Kavanaugh objected to applying the rule this year.
Source and context
Original text
About this source
The Court denies a stay of the preliminary injunction. Kavanaugh objects to applying the rule in 2026; Alito would grant the stay and Thomas joins him. This is emergency relief, not final disposition of every challenge to the executive order.
Before the quotation
Alito dissents from the stay denial.
After the quotation
The dissent records Thomas’s joinder.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Defends enforcement through an express joinder.
- Recorded on
- Published here
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The Dispute Index. "Thomas joins Alito’s dissent seeking a stay". First published: 2026-09-15. Last updated: 2026-09-15. https://disputeindex.com/events/632-thomas-joins-the-position-that-enforcement-should-be