Mail-in voting battle continues as midterms near

Nina Heller, CQ-Roll Call on Aug 24, 2026

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WASHINGTON — With just 10 weeks left before the midterm elections, the White House is still hoping there’s enough time to restrict voting by mail.

On Monday the Trump administration submitted another brief to the Supreme Court, re-upping its plea for urgency as November approaches.

The Postal Service issued new regulations Friday aimed at mail-in ballots, pursuing priorities outlined by President Donald Trump in a March executive order.

States would be required to design their ballot envelopes with unique barcodes, official logos and automation-compatible formatting, according to the 95-page final rule. They would also need to provide lists of voter names and addresses to the Postal Service.

The rule has “an immediate effective date,” and delaying that “would jeopardize implementation … in time for the 2026 general election,” according to the document.

But the issue has been tied up in litigation, after federal courts moved to block Trump’s executive order earlier this year. The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court for a stay, and the Postal Service said it will not implement its new regulations for the upcoming election “unless and until the government obtains relief.”

The Constitution gives states the primary authority to administer elections, but Trump has sought to exercise more control as he repeats unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud and noncitizen voting, vowing to restore “integrity” to the process.

In June, a federal judge in Massachusetts sided with states unhappy with Trump’s executive order, finding that the executive branch and mail service did not have the power to add such restrictions.

The Trump administration pushed back, and on Monday argued that the Postal Service’s “issuance of a final rule underscores the need for relief from the district court’s improper, unripe injunction.”

The rule “imposes only modest requirements for preparation and envelope design for federal ballot mail — requirements that fall well within its traditional authorities to impose mailing standards for particularly sensitive types of mail,” the brief states.

Voting rights groups complained that damage may already be done, even if the administration does not plan to implement the rule unless the Supreme Court acts in its favor.

Unveiling the final rule could cause “widespread confusion among election officials and the public, thereby undermining voter confidence and disrupting the administration of elections,” according to a memo filed in a lower court case over the weekend.

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