Supreme Court gives Trump win in mail ballot dispute
The Supreme Court backed part of President Trump’s executive order cracking down on mail-in ballots ahead of the midterm elections.
States have renewed their legal challenge against the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict voting by mail, with 24 state attorney generals bringing a lawsuit in Massachusetts against the U.S. Postal Service on Aug. 26.
“This is not over,” Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows told USA TODAY. “The states will see the Trump administration in court, and we will do everything in our power to protect the rights of American citizens to use the mail to vote, just as they always have.”
In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that in part seeks to give the U.S. Postal Service a say over when and how ballots are mailed and which ballots are returned to local election officials. States challenged the executive order, saying the Constitution gives them authority over election administration, not the executive branch. That argument is reiterated in their new lawsuit.
On Aug. 24, the Supreme Court ruled that a lower court moved too soon when it partly paused Trump’s executive order. It also said states couldn’t challenge rules that have not yet impacted them.
In their complaint, the states argue: “Whether a qualified voter may vote by mail is a question of state law, as is the question of whether a ballot will be accepted for processing and tabulation.”
Asked to respond to the states’ lawsuit, the White House reissued a statement it gave USA TODAY earlier in the week about the high court’s ruling.
“The Supreme Court ruling was a major win for the security of American elections. Radical Democrats continue to oppose commonsense measures that protect the security of mail-in ballots and ensure only Americans are electing American leaders. The Trump Administration will continue to lawfully enact the agenda President Trump was elected on – which includes the safety and security of our elections,” White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said.
USPS formally published its new rule in the Federal Register on Aug. 26, imposing new requirements for states to provide the government information on voters before the midterms. That opened the door for states to file a new lawsuit.
The fight over absentee ballots could be crucial for the 2026 midterms, which will determine which party controls Congress. Democrats need to flip a handful of seats in the House and Senate to gain control.
Nearly 30% of voters cast an absentee ballot in the 2024 election. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to vote by mail, according to the MIT Election Data & Science Lab.
There are less than 70 days until Election Day. Under federal law, ballots must be sent by mail to military and overseas voters the week of Sept. 14 to ensure they can be returned on time. Twenty states send mail-in ballots to voters 45 days or more before an election, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. For example, North Carolina begins sending ballots out the first week of September.
“Across the country, states are already deep into preparations for the 2026 elections. Now, at the last moment, the federal government is attempting to meddle in those preparations and potentially threaten countless Americans’ right to vote,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. “The USPS has no authority to decide who can and cannot vote by mail.”