Trump’s Mail-In Voting Curbs Blocked By US Supreme Court Ahead Of Midterms

A last minute push by US President Donald Trump to reshape mail in voting before the November midterm elections has hit a major legal roadblock, with the Supreme Court refusing to let the administration enforce new restrictions on how states send ballots.

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the Trump administration’s request to lift a lower court order blocking a new US Postal Service rule. The decision means mail-in voting rules remain unchanged for the 2026 midterms, with states continuing to use their existing systems as voting has already begun in some parts of the country.

The court said the government was unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to the lower court injunction. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, while Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the majority but indicated that the administration could potentially have a stronger case later.

Kavanaugh said the proposed rules might fall within the Postal Service’s statutory authority, but argued that implementing them for the 2026 elections would be unlawful because state and local election officials lack sufficient time to reasonably put the system in place before voting.

Trump’s March 31 executive order sought sweeping changes to federal election procedures. The administration’s plan required states to provide voter information to the USPS and use federally approved envelopes and barcodes. The Postal Service would have been able to reject or withhold ballots that did not comply with the new requirements.

The plan faced strong opposition from states, voting rights groups and election officials. Democratic led states argued that the Constitution gives states broad authority over election administration and that the federal government could not unilaterally impose such requirements.

The legal battle intensified last week when a federal appeals court upheld a preliminary injunction blocking the USPS rule. A second federal judge, Trump appointee Carl Nichols, also ruled Sunday that the Postal Service could not refuse to deliver ballots because states had failed to comply with its new voter list and envelope requirements.

The restrictions had raised concerns about millions of legitimate ballots being affected. Some states had already begun sending ballots to voters, making a sudden nationwide change particularly difficult to implement. North Carolina was among the states that had already started its mail ballot process.

A USPS whistleblower had separately warned that technical problems and a rushed implementation could leave some voters without their ballots.

Trump has repeatedly attacked mail voting, linking it to his unsubstantiated claims that widespread fraud helped Joe Biden win the 2020 presidential election. Yet Trump himself used mail voting last month in Florida’s Republican primary.

The Supreme Court ruling comes as Republicans defend their narrow control of Congress in the November 3 midterms. Democrats are seeking major gains, particularly in the House, and have said that winning control of Congress could allow them to challenge much of Trump’s agenda.