The United States Supreme Court has rejected President Donald Trump’s attempt to impose new restrictions on voting by mail ahead of the November midterm elections. In a significant blow to the administration’s efforts to alter election procedures, the conservative supermajority court ruled on Monday that states may continue their existing practices for distributing and collecting postal ballots.
The decision halts any potential last-minute legal maneuvers as some states have already begun mailing out ballots for the upcoming contests. The ruling affirms an injunction originally issued by US District Judge Indira Talwani, who determined in June that the executive order likely violated the Constitution and was impractical to implement given the proximity of the election.
The legal battle began in March 2026, when Trump signed an executive order directing the US Postal Service to assume control over mail voting logistics. The directive required the design of new envelopes with special barcodes to verify voter eligibility and mandated that states provide federal agencies, including Homeland Security and US Citizenship and Immigration Services, with lists of registered voters. The order also empowered the postal service to reject ballots that did not meet the new standards or were not linked to eligible voters.
Democrats and voting rights activists challenged the order in federal courts between May and August. While the Supreme Court temporarily overturned Judge Talwani’s injunction in late August on procedural grounds, arguing that opponents had filed suit too early, the court’s latest final decision refuses to lift the block. The brief order suggested the administration was likely to fail in its bid to restrict mail voting before the midterms.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, appointed by Trump, joined the majority in blocking the order, though he signaled he might support such a policy at a later date. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.
Trump has frequently questioned the security of mail-in voting, echoing debunked claims of widespread fraud, despite having voted by mail himself during the 2024 presidential election. He previously characterized changes to mail voting during the COVID-19 pandemic as “the greatest scam in the history of politics.” His broader legislative push, the SAVE America Act, which seeks sweeping changes to voting laws, has stalled in the Senate amid concerns that it could disenfranchise millions of voters.
Mail ballots have been a fixture in US elections for decades and currently account for approximately one-third of all votes cast. Data from the Brookings Institution indicates that instances of forgery or duplicate voting are exceedingly rare, occurring in only four out of every 10 million mailed votes. Eight states, along with the District of Columbia, conduct all elections entirely by mail, while others use the method for smaller contests.
Critics warn that the blocked order could have disrupted the delivery of votes and disenfranchised voters who rely heavily on postal ballots. With states such as Alabama, North Carolina, and Wisconsin already in the process of sending out midterm materials, the Supreme Court’s intervention ensures that current voting operations can proceed without the mandated uniform envelope system.
Four fraud cases per ten million votes? The data clearly contradicts the fear-mongering about mail-in ballots.
Does this mean the SAVE America Act has zero chance now? It already stalled in the Senate anyway.
Finally, some common sense from the Court. Preventing last-minute chaos before midterms was the right call.
Kavanaugh joining the majority is the real story here. Even a conservative appointed by Trump drew the line.