The Supreme Court has rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to impose restrictions on mail-in voting ahead of the midterm elections. The court, divided 7-2, upheld a lower court’s injunction that prevents the United States Postal Service (USPS) from implementing new rules regarding the eligibility of voters for mail-in ballots. The proposed rule would have required states to submit lists of eligible voters to the USPS, which would then confirm that ballots were sent only to those individuals. This role is not typically held by the USPS.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a concurring opinion with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, stated that the government is unlikely to succeed in its challenge to the District Court’s preliminary injunction. Kavanaugh noted that while there is a possibility the final rule could fall within the Postal Service's statutory authority, applying it for the 2026 elections would be impractical due to insufficient time for implementation by state and local election officials.
Voting by mail has already commenced in some states ahead of the elections, complicating the potential implementation of the proposed plan. This ruling is viewed as a setback for President Donald Trump, who has criticized mail-in voting, alleging without evidence that it leads to election fraud. The White House and USPS did not comment on the ruling.
Cisco Aguilar, Nevada’s secretary of state, stated in an email that the ruling affirms that elections belong to the American people. He emphasized that Democratic secretaries of state are prepared to oppose any attempts to disrupt the electoral process.
The conflict over mail-in voting began earlier in the year when Trump signed an executive order titled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” which mandated states to provide the USPS with lists of voters eligible for mail-in ballots. Many provisions of this order were blocked by federal courts before the Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court.
Following the Supreme Court's ruling, a USPS whistleblower reported that the online portal for the new rules was inadequately developed, raising concerns about the USPS's capability to implement the executive order effectively. Senator Richard Blumenthal, who disclosed the whistleblower's warning, expressed concerns about the potential chaos that could arise from the administration's plans.