US Supreme Court rejects Trump's mail voting restrictions for upcoming midterms

WASHINGTON - The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected the Trump administration's new mail voting restrictions, less than two months before the November midterm elections.

"Applying the rule in the 2026 elections would be arbitrary and capricious in 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," it said.

The decision allows the US Postal Service (USPS) to continue delivering ballots as it normally does.

On March 31, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to compile state-by-state lists of US citizens eligible to vote and instructing the US Postal Service to establish a system under which mail ballots would be delivered only to voters included on state-provided lists.

Days after the executive order was issued, numerous organizations and a group of states led by California sued in the District of Massachusetts. The District Court entered a series of injunctions blocking implementation of the order. With the latest ruling from the nation's highest court, that injunction is kept in place.

Under the USPS plan, which remains blocked, states would have been required to provide voters' names and addresses and use specific barcodes on ballot envelopes for USPS delivery.

Mail-in voting has already begun in states including Alabama, North Carolina and Wisconsin, according to a report by National Public Radio. More states will soon begin mail-in voting, including Hawaii, Oregon and Washington, where elections are conducted largely or entirely by mail.