Supreme Court rejects Trump-backed effort to tighten mail-in voting rules
The Supreme Court declined to adopt a proposal favored by Donald Trump that would have made mail-in voting harder ahead of the November midterm elections.
On the eve of the November midterm elections, the Supreme Court refused to implement a plan promoted by Donald Trump to restrict mail-in voting. The justices issued a brief order without hearing oral arguments, and no majority opinion was released. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas filed dissenting statements, while the majority upheld the existing rules.
Trump’s criticism focused on Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, all of whom he appointed and who form the conservative bloc on the Court. The effort to tighten absentee voting was intended to curb what Trump alleges is Democratic fraud in mail ballots, a claim that has shaped his post-election narrative. The ruling leaves one outlet mail-in voting framework in place as voters prepare for the November contests.
Why it matters
The decision keeps current absentee voting rules unchanged, affecting how millions may cast ballots in the upcoming midterms.
How this story developed
- Aug 27 Rep. Jake Auchincloss Discusses Congressional Reform and Supreme Court Changes
- Aug 30 A climate researcher introduced a Supreme Court‑expansion litmus test for Senate Democrats.
- Sep 1 Jim Clyburn publicly advocated expanding the Supreme Court to 13 justices.
- Sep 2 Speaker Mike Johnson announced a House vote on a constitutional amendment to limit the Supreme Court to nine justices.
- Sep 3 The Justice Department petitioned the Supreme Court to suspend a district judge’s order that halted a new USPS regulation tightening mail-in ballot requirements.
- Sep 4 The administration filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court.
- Sep 5 Judge extended the preliminary injunction blocking the rule.
- Sep 5 Judge Talwani issued a new order on Friday extending the injunction.
- Sep 6 Administration filed a third petition to the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the injunction.
- Sep 9 Supreme Court issued a 6‑3 stay of the district‑court injunction.
- Sep 10 First Circuit Court of Appeals denied the administration’s request to lift the injunction, leaving the rule blocked through the November elections.
- Sep 14 A federal judge issued an injunction blocking the USPS mail‑ballot rule.
- Sep 15 Supreme Court rejected the administration’s request to stay the injunction.
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