US Supreme Court Allows Trump to Enforce Executive Order Restricting Mail-In Voting

The US Supreme Court on September 22 ruled to allow President Donald Trump to continue enforcing his executive order restricting mail-in voting, though it remains unclear how many changes the administration can implement before the November midterm elections.

The decision was split 6-3, with three liberal justices expressing dissent. The ruling appears to leave open the possibility that further lawsuits could continue to delay implementation of Trump's order.

Earlier, the US Postal Service announced plans to implement the order last week, but time to apply major changes is running short as some states begin sending mail-in ballots to voters within the next few weeks.

Mail-in voting has long been a favored target of Trump's attacks. He has repeatedly claimed this method is prone to fraud, despite clear evidence to the contrary and the fact that he himself has used this voting method.

The executive order, signed by Trump in March, requires the administration to create a list of eligible voters and directs the Postal Service to deliver mail-in ballots only to those on that list.

Democratic officials in 23 states and the District of Columbia sued to block the order. They argue the US Constitution gives states and Congress the power to organize elections, and warn Trump's changes could lead to chaos and partisan abuse.

“The consequences of allowing such sweeping, transformative changes to take effect so close to this fall's election will be extremely severe,” attorneys representing the states wrote in their lawsuit. Dozens of state and local election officials also urged the judges to maintain the block order as election preparations are underway.

A federal judge in Massachusetts had previously blocked the plan for the midterm elections in the affected states, and an appeals court upheld that ruling. The judge then issued a second, nationwide block.

The Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court in late July, arguing the states sued too early and citing a separate ruling in Washington allowing the order to proceed. A Washington appeals court also supported that decision, but left open the possibility of future legal action.

Federal lawyers argued the Massachusetts block “prevents the government from finalizing and implementing the policies the President proposed to strengthen election integrity for the November federal election.” A group of about 12 Republican-leaning states supported the federal administration in the appeal, saying states would have a voice in the final voter list.

Previously, the Supreme Court had ruled against arguments from Trump supporters regarding mail-in ballots. In June, the court ruled that states could count ballots received after Election Day. That case was heard after full arguments, rather than under the emergency procedure used in the current matter.

Trump, who has made numerous false claims about widespread fraud in US elections, including his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden, has pushed the Republican-controlled Congress to pass the SAVE Act, a voting restriction reform package. He has also repeatedly promoted laws requiring proof of citizenship when voting. Non-citizen voting has been shown to be extremely rare and is considered a felony punishable by deportation.

Mail-in voting has become increasingly popular with voters of both parties. According to federal data, about 30% of ballots in the 2024 presidential election were cast this way. The process is also considered safe. A 2025 Brookings Institution study found only about 4 fraud cases per 10 million mail-in ballots.