JULY 28, 2026
Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Lift Block on Mail-In Voting Executive Order Before Midterms
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to halt lower court rulings that have blocked a March executive order restricting mail-in voting ahead of November's midterm elections. The order would require states to use federal citizenship lists to determine voter eligibility and direct the Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to people on those lists. A federal judge in Massachusetts blocked the order for plaintiff states in June, and a divided First Circuit panel upheld that block last week.
The Supreme Court appeal, filed by Solicitor General D. John Sauer, asks the justices to freeze the lower court injunction while lawsuits challenging the executive order proceed. Sauer argued the injunction was "indefensible" because federal agencies had not yet finalized rules for implementing the order, making any court block premature. The administration framed the order as setting "general policy guidance" rather than directly dictating how states run elections.
The executive order, issued in March, directs U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Social Security Administration to send states federal citizenship lists to determine eligible voters. The Postal Service would then be instructed to deliver mail ballots only to individuals on those lists. The order also requires mail ballots to arrive in secure envelopes carrying unique barcodes for tracking, and allows the federal government to withhold funding from states that do not comply.
Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia sued the administration shortly after the order was issued. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, nominated by President Barack Obama, ruled in June that the president lacked constitutional authority to order changes to how states and local governments administer elections. A divided First Circuit panel, with judges appointed by Biden and George W. Bush voting to uphold the block and a Trump appointee dissenting, left Talwani's ruling in place. Separately, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, appointed by Trump, declined in May to block the order in a parallel lawsuit filed by the Democratic National Committee and voting rights groups, finding it too early to act since rules had not been finalized.