US Supreme Court blocks Trump's new mail ballot rules for midterms
The US Supreme Court on Monday refused to allow the Trump administration to enforce new restrictions on mail-in ballots, dealing a setback to its efforts to tighten voting-by-mail rules ahead of the November midterm elections.
The justices rejected the Justice Department's emergency request to suspend a lower-court order that had blocked the US Postal Service (USPS) from implementing the new requirements while legal challenges continue. Conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, with Alito saying the administration was likely to prevail in its appeal.
The USPS adopted the contested rules following President Donald Trump's March executive order seeking tighter controls on mail voting. Under the rules, states would have to provide the Postal Service with lists of voters receiving mail ballots and use USPS-approved envelopes carrying unique barcodes for ballots being sent and returned.
The Postal Service would have been able to reject ballots that did not meet the new requirements or were linked to voters whose names did not appear on the state-provided lists.
Voting rights groups and a coalition of states, most of them Democratic-led, challenged the rules, warning that they could disrupt the delivery of legitimate ballots and disenfranchise voters as states prepare to send out mail ballots for the November 3 election.
A federal judge in Boston, Indira Talwani, blocked the USPS from enforcing the rules on September 4, finding that the measure likely violated the Constitution, which gives states the primary role in administering elections. She also said states would struggle to comply with the requirements given the approaching election.
The 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals last week declined to suspend Talwani's order, warning that the rule could result in the disenfranchisement of millions of voters while providing little or no benefit in preventing voter fraud.
A separate federal judge in Washington, DC, Carl Nichols, also blocked the rule on Sunday after the Democratic Party and groups including the NAACP sought an injunction. Nichols said the USPS had exceeded its legal authority and that the rule could make it harder for some voters to cast ballots by mail.
The administration has defended the restrictions as a measure to prevent voter fraud, although evidence of widespread mail-in voting fraud is rare. In an emergency filing on September 6, the administration asked the Supreme Court to allow implementation of what it called an important federal policy to prevent the postal system from being used for voter fraud.
The fight over mail voting has taken on added political significance as Republicans and Democrats battle for control of Congress in the midterms. Democrats disproportionately use mail ballots, according to surveys, meaning restrictions could have a greater impact on their voters.
Trump has repeatedly questioned the security of mail-in voting and has made false claims of widespread fraud in US elections, including his defeat by Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. He has nevertheless voted by mail himself.
All 50 US states permit some form of mail voting. In 29 states, voters can request a mail ballot without providing a reason, while eight states conduct elections entirely by mail.
Monday's ruling is the latest development in a broader fight over the federal government's role in election administration. On August 24, the Supreme Court had lifted an earlier injunction issued by Talwani that blocked parts of Trump's March executive order, including the USPS measure before it was finalised.- EndsPublished By: Nitish SinghPublished On: Sep 15, 2026 06:06 IST
