Electoral systems

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Revive Mail-In Voting Order

Is Trump's mail-in voting order an unconstitutional power grab or a necessary safeguard for election integrity?

JUL 27·Updated JUL 28

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Revive Mail-In Voting Order

Story

Above: An election worker in Martinez, California, on June 9. Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Facts

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to allow implementation of an executive order tightening mail-in voting rules, after the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court injunction blocking the order in 23 states on Saturday.
Reuters
New York Post
Trump's March executive order directs the Department of Homeland Security to compile lists of eligible voters and instructs the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to deliver ballots only to voters on those lists, while directing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prioritize prosecuting officials who issue ballots to ineligible voters.
New York Post
Reuters
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, appointed by former President Barack Obama, ruled in June that several provisions of the executive order likely exceeded presidential authority, blocking federal agencies from implementing them in plaintiff states through the Nov. 3 elections.
Reuters
The Hill
The Washington Examiner
A separate federal judge, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, blocked the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing the executive order nationwide, siding with the NAACP, which argued the proposed rule violated a 2021 settlement requiring USPS to prioritize timely delivery of election mail.
The Hill
guardian
FOX News
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously lifted Sullivan's injunction against the Postal Service rule on July 17, finding USPS made a strong showing the proposed rule was not ripe for review and that it fell outside the scope of the NAACP settlement agreement.
CNBC
The Hill
In a separate case, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in June to uphold state laws allowing mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if received up to five days later, a decision Trump called "a tremendous loss" and which he cited in renewing his call for the SAVE America Act.
AP News
NPR
FOX News

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The Spin

Democratic narrative

Trump's mail-in voting executive order is a blatant power grab that strips states of their constitutional authority over elections. Courts have already ruled the order unconstitutional, and for good reason — it would disenfranchise veterans, disabled voters and overseas citizens who depend on mail-in ballots. The Postal Service has no business becoming a gatekeeper for ballot eligibility.

NPR

The Hill

Republican narrative

Activist judges blocking Trump's election integrity executive order are shielding mail-in ballot chaos from any federal oversight heading into the 2026 midterms. The order simply directed agencies to verify voter eligibility and set standards for mail-in ballots — basic safeguards any serious democracy should want. The DOJ is right to take this fight to the Supreme Court.

The Gateway Pundit