Here’s a sweet treat to enjoy while you savor this beautifully gloomy grey weather: A federal judge (who happens to have been born and raised in Seattle) has sided with Washington state in our lawsuit over the Trump administration’s dismantling of the Postal Service. The court ordered the USPS to restore everything to the way it was before dime-store mobster impersonator Louis DeJoy started wrecking it.

That on its own would be welcome news. But buried at the back of the ruling is a truly direct rebuke of the Trump administration, written in strong language that makes it clear that the court is NOT AMUSED by what they’re trying to pull. This isn’t the end of the legal wrangling—it’s just an injunction, a temporary measure while the lawsuit continues—but ohhh boy is it encouraging. The court’s exasperation comes through loud and clear in a way that is extremely *~*chef’s-kiss*~*.

“At the heart of DeJoy’s and the Postal Service’s actions is voter disenfranchisement,” wrote Judge Stanley A. Bastian, who was nominated to the bench by Obama. “It is easy to conclude that the recent Postal Services’ changes is an intentional effort on the part the current Administration to disrupt and challenge the legitimacy of upcoming local, state, and federal elections.”

(And yes, there are a few typos in the ruling. Time is of the essence here! This is urgent! Of course a few prepositions are going to get dropped!)

Bastian added that it seems as though “the Postal Service’s actions are not the result of any legitimate business concerns.” He also wrote that while the government claimed that the Postal Service disruptions weren’t a significant change from past years, “This is simply not true.”

Ultimately, he concluded, “Plaintiffs have made a strong showing that the recent changes are the result of an effort by the current Administration to use the Postal Service as a tool in partisan politics, which violates the spirit and purpose of the Postal Reorganization Act and the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act.”

So! What does this mean? Well, effective immediately, mail carriers will no longer be forced to leave mail behind, they’ll have to treat election mail as though it’s First Class, and they’ll have to reassemble the decommissioned sorting machines.

This is, to use a technical legal term, a big friggin deal. Not only does it reset the Postal Service back to its formerly-functional state, but it provides a strong indication that the lawsuit, filed by Washington and over a dozen other states, is likely to succeed. I wouldn’t fully count those chickens JUST yet, but this is an extremely encouraging step. Now, go forth and send some mail! And don’t forget to vote.