North Carolina's strict new mail-in ballot rules will remain in place for November's midterm elections after a federal judge refused on Monday, October 19, to block them, The Hill and Bloomberg Law reported.

U.S. District Judge Thomas D. Schroeder denied a preliminary injunction sought by the North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans and two other groups, finding they had not made a clear showing they were likely to succeed on their claims that the rules violate the Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The State Board of Elections adopted the changes on September 4, just before ballots were mailed: a ballot can be disqualified where the signature does not match the name on the voter's application, and county officials are directed not to count votes if the inner envelope is not properly sealed.

Schroeder wrote that the Supreme Court has repeatedly said lower courts "should ordinarily not alter the election rules on the eve of an election," and added: "Here, 'the election is not merely upcoming; it has already started'" — early voting is under way. He also criticised the plaintiffs for waiting until September 22 to sue. Opponents of the rules cited county reports that more than 2% of ballots received in recent weeks had been rejected; voters whose mail ballots are rejected may still be able to cast a replacement ballot in person.

Governor Josh Stein, a Democrat, had called the board's decision "a slap in the face to voters" and accused it of circumventing state law. The ruling lands in one of America's most watched midterm states, with an open U.S. Senate seat that Democrats see as their best pickup chance. The case is N.C. Alliance for Retired Americans v. N.C. State Board of Elections, No. 1:26-cv-00965, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina; the wider legal dispute over the rules continues. Sources: The Hill; Bloomberg Law.