Supreme Court Rejects Trump-Backed Postal Service Mail-Ballot Plan
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The Court issued a brief order denying the administration’s request to let the Postal Service withhold mail-in ballots, a decision welcomed by voting-rights groups and criticized by the White House.
The U.S. Supreme Court issued an unsigned order on Monday refusing to grant the Trump administration’s request that the Postal Service be allowed to refuse delivery of mail-in ballots under a proposed rule. The two-sentence order stated that the government was unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to a lower-court injunction and that equitable factors did not favor a stay, without providing detailed legal reasoning.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a brief concurrence, noted that the final rule appeared to fall within the Postal Service’s statutory authority, suggesting a possible vote in favor of the administration’s position. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas filed dissenting opinions, echoing the administration’s claims of potential fraud in mail-in voting.
Former Solicitor General Donald Verrilli told a Georgetown Law panel that he expects continued legal disputes over mail-in ballots, saying, "As the rest of this electoral cycle unfolds, and into 2028, I think there’s going to be a lot of turbulence around these issues."
The challenged rule, finalized in late August, would have required states to submit voter eligibility lists to the Postal Service and to use envelopes with tracking barcodes, with non-compliant ballots potentially barred from delivery. Approximately 30% of voters nationwide rely on mail-in ballots, particularly military personnel, seniors and people with disabilities.
State officials from California and other Democratic-led states argued that the rule was unworkable and could disenfranchise voters. Republican-led states and the Justice Department said the aim was to ensure election integrity. Attorney General Todd Blanche reiterated the department’s intent to pursue restrictions on mail voting, emphasizing the goal of “safe voting and… one person placing one vote.”
The Court’s decision follows a June 5-4 ruling in a separate mail-ballot case involving Mississippi’s five-day receipt grace period, where the majority upheld the state’s practice and the dissent warned of voter-fraud concerns. The justices, now a six-conservative majority, have been handling a series of election-related cases that could influence the 2024 midterms and the 2028 presidential election.