The Supreme Court on Monday paused a federal judge’s ruling that blocked key parts of President Trump’s executive order to restrict mail-in voting before the November midterm elections, lifting an injunction that had covered 23 states and Washington, D.C. The unsigned order, released August 24, granted an emergency request from the Trump administration and 12 Republican-led states, though the three liberal justices dissented.
The move marks the latest escalation in a legal battle over Trump’s March 2026 executive order directing the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail-in ballots only to voters on federally-compiled lists and ordering the Department of Homeland Security to create state citizenship lists. A federal judge in Boston, Indira Talwani, had blocked key portions of the order in June, ruling that Trump overstepped presidential authority under the Constitution, which gives power to state legislatures and Congress to set federal election rules.
Despite the Supreme Court’s decision, a separate nationwide injunction Talwani issued on August 11 still prevents the Postal Service from implementing the procedural changes for the November 3 elections. The administration would need to overcome that order as well before any new mail-ballot system could take effect. It remains unclear what practical impact the high court’s pause will have on eligible mail-in voters.
The Executive Order and Its Legal Challenges
Trump’s March 31 order calls for the Department of Homeland Security to develop state lists of adult U.S. citizens and for the Postal Service to obtain lists of eligible mail voters from states. According to the order, USPS is supposed to deliver mail-in ballots only to people on those lists, and all election officials would be required to have certain barcodes on their mail ballot envelopes.
The Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan research organization, has concluded that both Trump’s 2025 and 2026 election-related executive orders are unlawful principally because the president lacks any authority to run elections. The Constitution reserves that power exclusively to state legislatures and Congress. The order also violates federal law by attempting to direct the actions of the Postal Service, which is an independent agency.
Trump has said he issued the order to stop illegal voting by non-U.S. citizens in federal elections, though research has found such voting to be infinitesimally rare. Talwani’s June ruling noted that the president lacks legal authority to control mail-in voting, and that USPS, which is independent of the president’s administration, also has no legal authority to determine ballot eligibility.
Implementation Hurdles Remain
The administration has previously acknowledged the shrinking window of opportunity to implement Trump’s order for this year’s midterms. In a July court filing, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer noted that implementation efforts for any USPS rule or DHS policy would need to begin well before November—as soon as early to mid-August—to be effective for the 2026 election, particularly given that absentee and mail-in voting begin in some states several weeks prior to Election Day.
The Postal Service released a final rule for federal ballot mail in response to Trump’s order, though its implementation remains blocked by the nationwide injunction. With absentee voting set to begin in many states within weeks, legal experts and election officials face mounting uncertainty about whether the restrictions can be implemented before ballots are cast.
The legal fight is likely far from over, with separate lawsuits led by Democrats and voting rights groups continuing to play out as the midterm election draws closer.
Sources
- NPR — Supreme Court’s pause of lower court ruling on Trump’s mail voting order, the underlying executive order’s directives, and implementation timeline challenges
- CNBC — Supreme Court’s unsigned order lifting injunction in 23 states and Washington, D.C., with details on dissenting justices and the separate nationwide injunction still in effect
- Brennan Center for Justice — Legal analysis of Trump’s March 2026 executive order on mail voting, constitutional authority issues, and unlawfulness assessment
- Constitution Center — Details of Trump’s March 2026 executive order requiring USPS to only send mail-in ballots to voters on federally-compiled lists
