US Supreme Court rejects Trump’s plans on postal ballots: Why it matters

The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected an effort by President Donald Trump to impose new federal rules on mail-in voting ahead of the November midterm elections, leaving in place a federal injunction that blocks his March executive order. The short order from the conservative-majority court prevents immediate implementation of a plan that would have required uniform envelopes with barcodes, given the US Postal Service new authority to reject noncompliant mailed ballots, and compelled states to provide lists of eligible voters to federal agencies. The executive order faced rapid legal challenges from Democrats and voting-rights activists and was first enjoined by US District Judge Indira Talwani in June, with Talwani finding the rule likely violated the Constitution and noting practical impossibility given the proximity of the midterms. The administration briefly won a procedural reprieve from the Supreme Court in late August, but the justices’ latest decision leaves the injunction intact and signals the court is unlikely to permit the order to take effect before voting is complete. Supporters of the injunction and critics of the executive order warned that imposing new uniform standards and federal oversight at short notice could disenfranchise voters who rely on mail ballots and disrupt delivery and counting processes. Mail voting has been used in the US for decades, is credited with boosting turnout, and currently makes up about one-third of all votes; eight states and Washington, DC conduct all elections entirely by mail. President Trump has repeatedly questioned the security of mail-in voting and sought congressional and administrative changes, including the stalled SAVE America Act in the Senate and the March executive order that would have centralized parts of the mail voting system. The Brookings Institution estimates instances of forgery or duplicate voting in mailed ballots are extremely rare—about four in 10 million mailed votes—contrasting with the widespread fraud claims offered by the president. Several states, including Alabama, North Carolina and Wisconsin, have already begun sending out midterm ballots, a practical factor cited by courts in assessing the feasibility of the proposed federal changes.