Congress Elections: Trump Takes Mail-In Voting Fight Back to Supreme Court

The Trump administration has returned to the Supreme Court in its effort to impose tougher rules on mail-in voting, seeking an emergency decision less than two months before the 2026 midterm elections.

The administration wants the justices to suspend a lower-court ruling that currently prevents the rules from taking effect. North Carolina is due to begin sending out some mail ballots this Friday, adding urgency to the request.

The proposed system would place the U.S. Postal Service at the center of mail-voting oversight. States would have to submit their ballot-envelope designs to the Postal Service for approval. The agency would also deliver ballots only to citizens listed on voter rolls provided by the states.

Republicans defend the measures as a way to prevent alleged election fraud. Critics suspect the rules are intended to make voting by mail more difficult and disadvantage Democratic voters. A federal judge blocked the plan last week, describing President Trump’s order as “a probably unconstitutional regulation whose compliance would be practically impossible with regard to the 2026 midterm elections.” She also said the rules could not realistically be introduced so shortly before the vote.

The elections on Nov. 3 will decide roughly one-third of the Senate and every seat in the House of Representatives. Republicans hold narrow majorities in both chambers, making each seat potentially decisive in determining control of Congress. The Supreme Court previously lifted another order against Trump’s plans, but did so on procedural grounds without ruling on their legality.

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a probably unconstitutional regulation whose compliance would be practically impossible with regard to the 2026 midterm elections