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Supreme Court blocks Trump order restricting voting

September 15, 2026

The Supreme Court rejected Trump's effort to restrict voting by mail, leaving states free to send ballots under the systems they have used for years.

Trump has pushed against voting by mail since his return to the White House, arguing for years that it opens the ballot to people who are not citizens, and 23 states and Washington DC took his order to court.

Key facts

The justices left the postal rule unable to take effect ahead of November's elections. BBC reports the lower court history: Judge Indira Talwani in Boston enjoined the order on 4 September, finding that voters could be disenfranchised if the measures arrived so near the elections, and Judge Carl Nichols ruled against the order on Sunday. BBC also reports that twenty-three states and Washington DC went to court against it, that election officials at state and local level would have had to feed an online portal with information on voters receiving mail ballots, and that the postal workers' union saw no way to train clerks before the vote. The New York Times covers the same decision, and in a second piece follows Trump pressing on with his effort to assert control over elections after losing at the Court.

The Atlantic reports doubts among many judges about both the rule's legal footing and how fast the administration moved on it, with under two months left before the elections, and reports that Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas would have let the USPS plan proceed. BBC reports that Justice Brett Kavanaugh went along with the ruling while signalling he could side with Trump later as the litigation runs on. On what the rule would have cost the people running elections, BBC carries the account of Josh Zygielbaum, the Adams County, Colorado clerk and recorder, who described the expense of a late switch with his envelopes already printed. Trevor Potter, president of Campaign Legal Center, said in a statement that the decision prevents the US Postal Service from sowing chaos in the elections.

One account states that states may keep mailing ballots through the machinery they have run for years, which handles a large share of all votes; a competing account reads what the ruling leaves standing differently. The fate of the order itself is settled across the coverage. The split is over what the ruling permits from here.

In a written statement, Campaign Legal Center president Trevor Potter said, "Today's Supreme Court decision prevents the US Postal Service from sowing chaos in our elections,"

Trevor Potter

Still developing

Where the continuing litigation in the case falls in the run of events moves between the accounts.

How settled the reporting is

Reported 94% · Contested 2% · Developing 4%

Sources

Toggle read the full reports of 4 of the 5 outlets counted on this event. The other 1 are counted from their headlines and opening sentences.