Supreme Court Rejects Trump's Mail Ballot Restrictions for Midterms
Key Points
- Supreme Court rejected Trump's bid to restrict mail-in voting on September 15, 2026, allowing states to continue sending ballots as they have done for years.
- Trump signed an executive order in March 2026 requiring uniform ballot envelopes with barcodes and giving the US Postal Service control over mail voting.
- Mail ballots account for one-third of all votes cast in the US and fraud cases amount to only 4 in 10 million mailed votes according to the Brookings Institution.
Trump's Mail Voting Push and Legal Defeat
Democrats and activists challenged the executive order in several courts between May and August 2026. US District Judge Indira Talwani imposed an injunction against the rule in June on the basis that it likely violated the US Constitution. Talwani also noted in her injunction that the executive order would be impossible to apply when the midterms were already so close. The conservative-majority Supreme Court temporarily overturned Talwani's injunction in late August but ultimately rejected Trump's restrictions on September 15.
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Trump's attempt to push broader voting restrictions through the SAVE America Act, which calls for sweeping voting law changes, has stalled in the US Senate after being passed by the House of Representatives in February 2026. The bill faces opposition over concerns that millions of voters would be disenfranchised.
Eight states—California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington—as well as the District of Columbia, allow all elections to be conducted entirely by mail. Other states only allow smaller elections to be conducted by mail. Despite Trump's repeated claims about mail voting fraud, documented cases are rare. According to the Brookings Institution, fraud amounts to just 4 in 10 million mailed votes.
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The Supreme Court's rejection of Trump's plans removes a final legal obstacle to mail voting before ballots reach voters in some states. With mail ballots accounting for one-third of all votes cast nationally and the midterm elections scheduled for November 2026, the ruling preserves voting procedures that have been in place for decades and have shown measurable increases in voter turnout.
What Happens Next
Trump is expected to face continued legal defeats on voting restrictions before the November 2026 midterms. Democrats will likely challenge any additional executive orders targeting mail voting, and the conservative Supreme Court's rejection suggests the administration has exhausted immediate legal avenues to restrict ballots. Voting by mail will proceed as scheduled across participating states.
Sources: Al Jazeera and other international news outlets.
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