US Supreme Court mail-in voting — The United States Supreme Court has ruled that the administration of Donald Trump may continue its efforts to restrict mail-in voting, a move that could shape the upcoming 2026 midterm elections. The decision, issued on Monday, found that the states challenging the executive order lacked standing to contest the measure at this stage.

The majority of the Supreme Court, which currently leans conservative, did not address the legality of the changes themselves. Instead, the justices determined that the Democratic officials from 23 states and the District of Columbia who filed the lawsuit were not in a position to challenge the executive order. The ruling allows the Trump administration to move forward with preparations, though further legal challenges could still delay or block the implementation of the order.

Trump’s Executive Order and Legal Battle

Donald Trump signed the executive order in March, directing the federal government to create lists of eligible voters and instructing the United States Postal Service to deliver mail-in ballots only to those on these lists. Democratic officials argued that the US Constitution gives states and Congress—not the executive branch—the authority to organize elections. They also warned that changing voting rules so close to an election could disrupt the electoral process.

A federal judge in Massachusetts initially blocked the order for the midterms, a decision upheld by an appeals court. The Department of Justice then appealed to the Supreme Court, which has now ruled on the procedural question but left the door open for future lawsuits if the order is implemented.

Trump has long criticized mail-in voting, claiming it enables fraud, though studies—including one from the Brookings Institution in 2025—have found only a handful of fraud cases among millions of ballots. Despite his criticism, Trump himself has voted by mail. After losing the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, Trump made unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud.

The new executive order is presented by the administration as a measure to prevent non-citizens from voting, although cases of non-citizen voting are rare and already illegal. In the 2024 presidential election, about 30% of ballots were cast by mail, according to federal data.

This Supreme Court decision is one of several recent rulings related to US election procedures. In June, the justices allowed states to count ballots arriving after Election Day, but that decision followed a full hearing. Monday’s ruling was made through the emergency process, highlighting the ongoing legal uncertainty surrounding US voting rules ahead of November’s elections.