Trump asks Supreme Court to allow mail-in voting limits for November midterms
The Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court on Monday to let an executive order proceed that would restrict delivery of mail ballots to voters on a newly created federal eligibility list, after lower courts blocked it in 23 states and the District of Columbia.
What the executive order would do
President Donald Trump signed the order in March 2026, directing the Social Security Administration and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to build a "state citizenship list" of eligible voters. The U.S. Postal Service would then deliver mail ballots only to people on that list. Trump presented the measure as a safeguard against noncitizen voting, which studies show is extremely rare and already a felony punishable by deportation.
Legal challenges and the block
Democratic officials in 23 states and the District of Columbia sued immediately, arguing that the Constitution gives states and Congress, not the president, the authority to set election rules. The order was blocked in nearly half the country. In June, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston, an Obama appointee, halted its implementation for the 3 November midterms, finding that the restrictions risked keeping many eligible voters from casting ballots.
A three-judge panel of the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that block over the weekend of 25–26 July. The majority, appointees of Joe Biden and George W. Bush, warned that the order would create chaos and disenfranchise voters, while a Trump appointee dissented.
sow confusion and threaten disenfranchisement of many eligible voters.
Unprecedented levels of involvement by federal officials in how states administer elections would spark mass confusion and potentially disenfranchise eligible voters.
Supreme Court emergency request
On 27 July, the Justice Department filed an emergency application asking the Supreme Court to let the order take effect while the underlying lawsuits continue. The filing argues that the president has authority to protect election integrity, but opponents say allowing the order would throw state-run voting systems into turmoil less than 100 days before voters cast ballots.
- President Trump signs executive order creating a federal voter list and limiting USPS mail ballot delivery to those on the list.
- U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani blocks the order for 23 states and D.C., citing risk of disenfranchisement.
- First Circuit Court of Appeals upholds the block, with majority warning of confusion and disenfranchisement.
- Justice Department asks Supreme Court to stay lower court rulings and allow the order to proceed.
Political context
Trump has repeatedly claimed without evidence that mail voting is riddled with fraud and that elections he lost were rigged against him. Alongside the court battle, he is pressing the Senate to pass the Save America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote among other restrictions. The Supreme Court now faces a decision that could shape ballot access across nearly half the country.
