Trump Seeks Supreme Court Review of Mail-In Voting Order

The 2026 midterm elections hinge in part on whether federal agencies can restrict which voters receive mail ballots. President Trump’s March executive order directed the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration to build state-by-state lists of eligible voters from federal records and instructed the Postal Service to deliver absentee ballots only to names on those lists. Democratic officials in 23 states and the District of Columbia sued, arguing the order exceeds presidential authority. A federal district judge in Massachusetts blocked enforcement for those jurisdictions last month. The First Circuit appeals panel, split along appointment lines, declined to lift the injunction. The Justice Department then asked the Supreme Court for an administrative stay, contending the district court lacked jurisdiction because implementing rules remain unfinished and that the injunction prevents the executive from directing its own agencies. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson set a response deadline for the plaintiff states. Separately, the administration has pressed Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which adds voter-identification and citizenship-verification requirements. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said Republicans lack the votes to end the filibuster or to force the measure through on a budget resolution, and several GOP senators have opposed canceling the August recess for the effort. Postmaster General David Steiner told a Senate hearing that ballots would not be delivered in states refusing to share voter data if the order takes effect. The Postal Service has proposed rule changes and expanded contracted armed security at 18 facilities, adding more than 12,000 guard hours per week. No outlet supplied independent data confirming or refuting claims of widespread mail-in fraud or the precise partisan effects of the restrictions.