Supreme Court Blocks Trump Administration’s Attempt to Control Mail-In Voting Before the 2026 Midterms

The Supreme Court has left in place a lower-court injunction preventing the United States Postal Service from enforcing new rules governing who may receive mail-in ballots before the November 2026 midterm elections.

The decision came from a court divided 7–2. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented. The ruling is a significant setback for President Donald Trump’s administration, which sought to give the Postal Service a new role in verifying voters eligible to receive mail ballots.

The decision does not necessarily settle whether the Postal Service has the legal authority to adopt such a rule permanently. Instead, the court concluded that applying the rule during the 2026 elections would be legally vulnerable because election officials did not have enough time to implement it reasonably.

What the blocked rule would have done

Under the proposed system, states would have been required to send the Postal Service lists of voters eligible to receive mail-in ballots. The Postal Service would then check those lists before delivering ballots, rather than simply performing its ordinary role in processing and delivering election mail.

That would have placed the federal agency in a function it does not typically perform: determining whether an individual should receive an election ballot based on information supplied by state officials.

The plan would have affected election administration shortly before the midterms. In some states, voting by mail had already begun, leaving limited time for officials to implement the new process.

Why the Supreme Court stopped the rule for 2026

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing in a concurring opinion joined by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, said the government was unlikely to prevail in its challenge to the lower court’s preliminary injunction.

Kavanaugh also acknowledged that the final rule might ultimately fall within the Postal Service’s statutory authority. But he wrote that using it in the 2026 elections could be considered arbitrary and capricious because state and local election administrators lacked sufficient time to put it into practice.

That distinction matters. The ruling focused heavily on timing and implementation rather than definitively resolving every question about the Postal Service’s authority.

The court’s decision preserves the existing procedures for the 2026 midterms while the broader legal dispute continues.

What the ruling means for voters

For voters, the immediate consequence is that the proposed federal verification system will not be imposed before the November elections.

The decision means:

• States and local election offices can continue using their existing procedures for mail-in voting.
• The Postal Service will not verify mail-ballot recipients against state-supplied eligibility lists under this rule.
• Voters who have already received or requested mail ballots are not subject to the new system described in the case.
• The broader dispute over whether the Postal Service may adopt such a rule remains unresolved.

The ruling concerns the blocked Postal Service rule, not every existing state requirement for absentee or mail voting. Voters should rely on their state or local election office for information about registration, ballot requests, deadlines, identification requirements, and how to return a ballot.

A setback for Trump’s campaign against mail voting

Trump has repeatedly criticized mail-in voting and claimed without evidence that it produces election fraud.

The proposed Postal Service rule was part of a broader effort by the administration to change how mail voting is administered and challenge public confidence in American elections. Blocking the rule before the midterms prevents a major change to the voting process from taking effect on a compressed schedule.

Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar described the decision as a victory for voters in a statement cited by the source material. The White House and the Postal Service did not respond to requests for comment about the ruling.

What voters should do

The ruling does not require voters to take special action. People who plan to vote by mail should:

• Check their registration status with their state or local election office.
• Confirm whether their state requires a separate mail-ballot application.
• Review the applicable request and return deadlines.
• Follow ballot instructions carefully, including any signature or identification requirements.
• Return the ballot through the method authorized by their election office.

The Supreme Court’s decision prevents one new federal procedure from taking effect. It does not replace the instructions issued by state and local election administrators.

Sources

• WIRED, “The Supreme Court Just Blocked Trump’s Efforts to Control Mail-In Voting for the Midterms,” published September 15, 2026: https://www.wired.com/story/the-supreme-court-just-blocked-trumps-efforts-to-control-mail-in-voting-for-the-midterms/