Supreme Court Blocks Trump Mail-In Voting Rules for Midterms

The Supreme Court kept a lower-court injunction in place, blocking USPS mail-in voting restrictions and ensuring no ballot changes for the 2026 midterms.

On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration's attempt to limit mail-in voting for now, keeping in place a lower court decision blocking the U.S. Postal Service from implementing new restrictions. "The Government is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to the District Court's preliminary injunction," the ruling said. The decision clears the way for states to continue sending out mail-in ballots as planned ahead of the November midterms. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, with Alito writing in an eight-page opinion that the new policy falls within the Postal Service's broad authority to regulate the mail.

The administration had pushed for states to report basic voter information, such as a voter's name and home address, attached to a unique barcode on every mail-in ballot, with postal workers then delivering ballots only to voters on the state-provided list. Democratic-led states and voter advocacy groups argued the new USPS regulations were an attempt to federalize elections, which are historically and constitutionally managed by each state, and make it harder to vote by mail. The ruling is a notable defeat for President Trump, who has pushed unfounded claims of widespread mail ballot fraud.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed with the majority but based his decision largely on timing rather than the merits. "In my view, based on the briefing the Court has received at this interim stage, there is at least a fair prospect that the final rule falls within the Postal Service's statutory authority," he wrote. But he found that applying the rule in the 2026 elections would be an "arbitrary and capricious" violation of the Administrative Procedure Act because state and local election officials do not have sufficient time to reasonably implement the rule before the elections.

Local election officials moved quickly to reassure voters. In Texas, Comal County elections coordinator Cynthia Jaqua told KSAT that "ballot-by-mail is just like it has been in the years past," urging voters to mail ballots back promptly so they arrive by Oct. 23 and to fill in the ID field on the carrier envelope, a common mistake her office calls voters to correct. In Michigan, Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck told Michigan Public that the state's elections are bipartisan, transparent, and run by trained professionals, and noted that the USPS rule set would not have prevented ineligible voters from casting absentee ballots anyway.

According to Michigan Public, the fight began in March when Trump issued an executive order establishing a national list of eligible voters and directing USPS to transmit mail-in ballots only to voters on that list. After an earlier ruling found plaintiff states lacked standing, 21 states including Michigan and the District of Columbia filed suit, winning a preliminary injunction from a federal judge in Boston. A new Glengariff poll of about 800 likely Michigan voters found 74.4% believe the system is fair and accurate, down from 79.4% in 2025, though 85% trust their own county's election results.

Monday's ruling likely ensures states can continue mailing out ballots for the midterms as planned, but the legal battle over ballot restrictions has effectively been punted to the 2028 election. Based on the decision, at least three justices are open to the Trump administration's arguments the next time this case or a similar one returns to the high court. Roebuck told Michigan Public that any future implementation would require uniform USPS-approved ballot envelopes, intelligent mail barcodes for tracking, and time and resources for states to submit absentee voter lists to USPS.