WASHINGTON (AURN News) — The Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s effort to enforce new mail-ballot restrictions before the November midterms. The Postal Service rule would have required states to use approved ballot envelopes with unique barcodes and upload voter information to a federal portal.
A lower court had already blocked the rule, and the Supreme Court left that injunction in place.
The 7-2 decision did not break strictly along ideological lines. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee, wrote separately that the Postal Service may have the authority to adopt such a rule, but applying it to the 2026 elections would be “arbitrary and capricious” because state and local election officials did not have enough time to implement it.
Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, arguing that the administration had met the requirements for the Postal Service rule to take effect while the case proceeds.
For election officials and voters, the immediate effect is that existing procedures remain in place. Groups challenging the rule called the decision a victory for states’ authority over election administration. For the November midterms, states can continue using their existing mail-ballot procedures.
Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @ebonymcmorris & @aurnonline.
