A federal judge’s block on Trump’s mail-voting restrictions remains in place as the Trump administration and Congress clash over postal voting authority ahead of the November midterms. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani extended a preliminary injunction on September 4 that bars the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing President Donald Trump’s March 31 executive order, which would have required states to provide federal citizenship verification lists and prohibited USPS from delivering ballots to voters not on those lists.
The legal battle intensified this week as the Trump administration renewed its Supreme Court appeal on September 6, and over 250 current and former members of Congress filed an amicus brief on September 8 urging the justices to reject the executive order entirely. The competing filings put the future of mail voting for nearly one-third of American voters directly before the Supreme Court as the midterm election approaches.
Trump’s executive order, titled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” directs federal agencies to compile lists of eligible voters and instructs USPS to use those lists to screen mail ballots. The ACLU and voting rights groups challenged the order, arguing it would disenfranchise military members, overseas citizens, the elderly, and voters with disabilities who rely on mail voting. In granting the preliminary injunction, Judge Talwani found that the executive order is likely unconstitutional and would cause irreparable harm to voting rights by creating confusion about mail ballots millions of voters depend on.
In the Supreme Court filing, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that the injunction creates uncertainty for states and election officials and that each day it remains in place risks “sowing confusion and chaos.” He noted that ballots have already begun mailing in North Carolina and warned that once ballot envelopes enter the mailstream, there is no retrieving them. Sauer stated that compliance with the new Postal Service rule should be mandatory, not optional.
The congressional brief, led by House Administration Ranking Member Joe Morelle, House Minority Leader Jamie Raskin, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, asserts that the Constitution grants states and Congress—not the president—exclusive authority over federal elections. The lawmakers argue that Trump’s order violates the separation of powers by attempting to give the executive branch unilateral control over mail voting. The brief notes that one-third of Americans are expected to vote by mail in the 2026 midterms and points out that Trump himself voted by mail in Florida’s Republican primary in August 2026.
The ACLU’s Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the Voting Rights Project, characterized the administration’s push as an attempt to “create chaos, undermine election integrity, and rob eligible voters of their essential right.” She emphasized that with fewer than 60 days until the November election, there is insufficient time for states to comply with the new rule without disenfranchising voters who rely on mail ballots.
The Supreme Court has already weighed in once, issuing an emergency order on August 24 that allowed parts of Trump’s executive order to move forward temporarily while blocking other provisions. That partial stay did not resolve the underlying constitutional questions now before the full court. The justices must decide whether the president has authority to direct USPS to screen mail ballots and whether the rule can be implemented in time for the midterms without causing voter confusion and disenfranchisement.
Election officials across the country have warned that compliance with the USPS rule would be impossible on the compressed timeline. States have already begun sending mail ballots, and revising ballot envelope designs, bar codes, and voter verification systems mid-election would create logistical chaos. The court’s reasoning in blocking the rule emphasized that the executive branch has no authority to regulate elections and that the order poses a direct threat to the voting rights of millions of Americans.
Sources
- PBS News — Trump administration’s September 6 Supreme Court appeal and Judge Talwani’s extension of the preliminary injunction blocking the USPS rule
- ACLU — Federal court’s preliminary injunction finding the executive order likely unconstitutional and the specific populations affected (military, overseas, elderly, disabled voters)
- House Judiciary Committee Democrats — Over 250 lawmakers’ amicus brief filed September 8 arguing the order violates separation of powers and constitutional election authority
- Reuters — Trump administration’s renewed Supreme Court bid and the timing of the legal challenge relative to mail ballot distribution
- SCOTUS Blog — Solicitor General Sauer’s filing details and the administration’s arguments about compliance and timing
