Supreme Court sides with Trump administration on mail voting restrictions ahead of midterms

Supreme Court sides with Trump.

Key points

• By: Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press, Nicholas Riccardi, Associated Press – August 25, 2026.
• DC Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press, Fatima Hussein, Associated Press June 26, 2026.
• An election worker sorts vote-by-mail ballots at the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office for the Florida primary election in Doral, Fla., Tuesday, Aug.
• Trump has blamed mail voting – without credible evidence – for his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.
• A 2025 Brookings Institution study discovered only concerning four cases of fraud out of every 10 million mail ballots cast.

Supreme Court sides with Trump administration on mail voting restrictions ahead of midterms.

Notably, an election worker sorts vote-by-mail ballots at the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office for the Florida primary election in Doral, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky).

Notably, the U.S. Postal Service laid out its plan for implementing the order last week, but time is running short to impose major changes.

Though it remains unclear how much can be put in place before the fast-approaching midterm elections, WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court opened a path Monday for feasible implementation of President Donald Trump's executive order restricting mail-in voting.

Meanwhile, the decision leaves room for extra court challenges that could further slow Trump's order, and other similar cases have already been filed. The U.S. Postal Service laid out how it would implement the order last week, but time is running short to impose major changes. North Carolina is sending out ballots Sept. 4 overseas and to military voters, and other states will rapidly follow suit in just a few weeks.

Notably, the Supreme Court's conservative majority didn't decide the legality of Trump's order, instead ruling that states who sued did not have the legal right to challenge it.

While the emergency order is not final, it does have the potential to create chaos around voting nationwide, with Trump often questioning the integrity of elections and the nation's highest court again the feasible arbiter of a political controversy.

"The Court's disposition of this application does not mean that any measure taken by the Administration to implement the Order will necessarily be lawful. On that score, time will tell, " the majority wrote in an unsigned order.

For context, the three liberal-leaning justices publicly dissented, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson writing that the rule "lets another shoe drop in the Kafkaesque nightmare that our precedents have been steadily creating for certain plaintiffs who seek to bring election-related challenges."

New York Attorney General Letitia James foreshadowed more legal fights ahead, calling the decision a "painful setback" but vowing it would "not be the final word."

For context, the court's order opens a path for the administration to commence action to restrict mail voting, but it additionally could lead to further litigation that could freeze the federal administration again.

"This is just the first inning of a very fast nine-inning game, " remarked Derek Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame University. Democrat-led states push back against Trump's order.

Mail balloting has long been a favorite target for Trump. This person has asserted that it breeds fraud despite robust evidence to the contrary and his own employ of the voting method.

Trump's executive order, signed in March, calls on his administration to create lists of eligible voters and orders the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to individuals on those lists. New requirements published Friday would forbid the Postal Service from sending mail ballots from any state that does not comply with Trump's order.

Meanwhile, a Postal Service spokesperson did not immediately respond messages seeking comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Democratic authorities in 23 states and the District of Columbia sued to block the order. They argued that the Constitution gives states and Congress the power to run elections, and Trump's changes could lead to chaos and partisan abuse.

"The consequences of allowing such transformative changes to take effect so close to this fall's elections would be extreme, " attorneys for the states wrote. Dozens of state and local election authorities weighed in, asking the justices to leave the order frozen while election preparations are already underway.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York remarked Monday the order was aimed at making it "harder for Americans to vote" in the pivotal elections for control of Congress, and vowed that Democrats would "fight every attempt to hijack mail-in voting and rig the rules before voters have their say this November."

Notably, a judge in Massachusetts blocked the plan for the midterm elections in those states. An appeals court upheld her decision. She afterwards granted a second order blocking it nationwide in a separate case, another remaining stumbling block for the Trump administration. It monday night asked her to void or suspend it in light of the Supreme Court ruling.

For context, the Justice Department appealed to the Supreme Court on procedural grounds in late July, arguing that the states sued too shortly. They additionally pointed to another ruling out of Washington, where a judge allowed Trump's order to proceed. While still leaving room for future court action if the changes are implemented, an appeals court backed that decision.

Federal attorneys argued that the Massachusetts order "blocks the government's ability to finalize and implement the President's proposed policies to promote election integrity for the upcoming federal elections in November."

Meanwhile, a dozen Republican-leaning states backed the federal administration in their own appeal before the high court, saying states would have input on the final voter lists. Trump fights mail-in voting despite its growing popularity.

In practice, the Supreme Court has previously ruled against Trump-backed arguments on mail-in ballots, finding in a 5-4 decision that states can count ballots that arrive after Election Day. That case was decided after full briefing and arguments, rather than on the court's emergency docket.

Trump has blamed mail voting – without credible evidence – for his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. He has promoted the proposed changes in his executive order as safeguards to keep non-U.S. Citizens from voting.

He's additionally repeatedly pressed for the passage of the legislation that requires proof of citizenship to vote. Noncitizen voting has been shown to be exceedingly rare, and is a felony that can be punishable by deportation.

Using mail ballots has become increasingly popular with voters of both parties, with regarding 30% of all ballots cast that way during the 2024 presidential election, according to federal data. The process additionally is secure. A 2025 Brookings Institution study discovered only concerning four cases of fraud out of every 10 million mail ballots cast.

David Becker, a former justice department lawyer who co-wrote a book debunking Trump's 2020 election lies, remarked the high court created "pure chaos leading up to the midterm elections, waiting weeks after an administration filing, and just days before mail ballots go out, to completely rewrite the rules."

Riccardi documented from Denver. Associated Press writer John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas contributed to this report. Regarding the Author(s). Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press. Nicholas Riccardi, Associated Press. News Frank Corder August 21, 2026.

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Taken together, the developments around supreme Court sides with Trump administration on mail voting restrictions ahead of point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.