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Confirmed
In Short: The Supreme Court has blocked President Trump's plan to restrict voting by mail, ruling it is too late to impose new postal service rules for the November election.
The Supreme Court has blocked President Trump's plan to restrict voting by mail, ruling it is too late to impose new postal service rules for the November election. The court's decision came after a federal judge had already halted the plan nationwide, but the Trump administration had asked the Supreme Court to revive it, arguing the federal government would be seriously harmed by voter fraud if it did not proceed. However, the court found no evidence of widespread fraud and left in place a judge's order that prevents the U.S. from implementing such a system on such a fast timeline.
The court's decision is part of a pattern of recent rulings against Republican priorities, including declining to revive a new congressional map in Missouri that would have eliminated one of two Democratic-held districts. While the court has a 6-3 conservative majority that often rules for Republican priorities, there are limits to how receptive some justices are to more extreme requests, election law experts say.
In the aftermath, the court quickly allowed Republican states to draw new congressional maps that eliminated majority-Black, Democratic-held seats. But now it is Trump who appears angered and frustrated by the court's actions, as the conservative majority has delivered him major defeats this year on his sweeping tariffs and plan to roll back birthright citizenship.
What's confirmed
- The Supreme Court has blocked President Trump's plan to restrict voting by mail, ruling it is too late to impose new postal service rules for the November election. The court's decision came after a federal judge had already halted the plan nationwide, but the Trump administration had asked the Supreme Court to revive it, arguing the federal government would be seriously harmed by voter fraud if it did not proceed. However, the court found no evidence of widespread fraud and left in place a judge's order that prevents the U.S. from implementing such a system on such a fast timeline.
- The court's decision is part of a pattern of recent rulings against Republican priorities, including declining to revive a new congressional map in Missouri that would have eliminated one of two Democratic-held districts. While the court has a 6-3 conservative majority that often rules for Republican priorities, there are limits to how receptive some justices are to more extreme requests, election law experts say.
- In the aftermath, the court quickly allowed Republican states to draw new congressional maps that eliminated majority-Black, Democratic-held seats. But now it is Trump who appears angered and frustrated by the court's actions, as the conservative majority has delivered him major defeats this year on his sweeping tariffs and plan to roll back birthright citizenship.
What's still developing
- “Compliance with the USPS’ rule would be impossible ahead of the midterms, meaning that millions of voters would be unable to vote by mail and some would not be able to vote at all,” the state attorneys general told the court last week.
- With control of Congress at stake, the court on Monday night blocked Trump’s plan to exert federal control over mail-in ballots via a Postal Service regulation.
- “I think the court is going to pay very close attention to any extraordinary actions that destabilize the electoral process,” said Bob Bauer, who served as White House counsel under President Barack Obama.
- “In both instances, the court said we’re not going to countenance that,” said Travis Crum, an NBC News contributor and law professor at Washington University in St. Louis.
- WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court in the last week has delivered major blows to President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans that suggest the justices will not be receptive to last-minute efforts to change election rules heading into the midterms.
- “There’s a signal here that this sort of late intervention is going to receive scrutiny.” On the left, the Supreme Court has been viewed with particular distrust and alarm as it relates to election issues following a major ruling in the spring that further weakened the landmark Voting Rights Act.
- The Missouri Supreme Court faulted Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins for delaying a decision on whether the new map could be challenged, ultimately finding him in contempt for defying its ruling in favor of plaintiffs.