Supreme Court Rules 7-2 Against Trump's Mail-in Ballot Scheme

Rhymes Media Group

Editor's Note: as reported by Reuters. U.S. Supreme Court has declined to allow the U.S. Postal Service to enforce a new Trump administration rule restricting how mail-in ballots are processed ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections.

The rule, developed following President Donald Trump’s March executive order, would have required states to provide USPS with lists of voters receiving mail ballots and use USPS-approved envelopes containing unique barcodes, potentially allowing the agency to refuse ballots that did not meet the new standards.

Democratic-led states and voting-rights organizations challenged the rule, arguing that it improperly intruded on states’ constitutional authority to administer elections and could disenfranchise voters.

The Supreme Court left in place a lower-court injunction blocking the policy, with the majority saying the government was unlikely to prevail on the merits; Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed with the outcome but emphasized that states lacked sufficient time to implement the changes before the election.

The decision represents a setback for Trump’s effort to impose greater federal restrictions on mail voting, while the broader legal battle over federal authority over elections continues.

https://www.reuters.com/.../loss-trump-us-supreme-court.../ "In loss for Trump, US Supreme Court won't let Postal Service restrict mail ballots | Reuters"