USPS mail-in ballot rules and legal challenges 2026
One page that accretes the verified record as the story develops. Every fact keeps its date and its sources.
Federal judge extends block on Trump order restricting mail-in voting and USPS mail ballot rules
North Carolina became the first state to start sending out mail-in ballots for the November 3 midterm elections.
The Trump administration quickly appealed Friday's ruling.
USPS has said in court filings that the technology needed to administer the order is not available.
North Carolina becomes first state to send out mail-in ballots for US midterms
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has given challengers until Tuesday to respond to the administration's request for an immediate stay.
The Trump administration asked the supreme court on Thursday to let it revive a rule barring the postal service from delivering ballots in states that don't share voter data with the federal government.
The proposed rule is part of an executive order Trump signed in March directing agencies to compile citizen lists for use in screening mail ballots.
Midterm mail ballots begin amid litigation uncertainty
North Carolina is scheduled to become the first state to widely distribute mail ballots for this year's elections on Friday.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections is led by a Republican majority.
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is among Democratic state officials challenging Trump's executive order and the Postal Service changes in a lawsuit.
Vote-by-mail controversy in the US
24 states filed a new lawsuit after the Postal Service announced the restrictions to mail-in voting were in effect.
In March 2026, Trump issued an executive order aimed at ensuring the integrity of federal elections directing the Postal Service to propose new rules reforming the design of mail-in ballots to include identifying barcodes.
About 30 percent of people who voted in the 2024 elections sent their ballots through the mail, according to the Election Assistance Commission.
Federal judge considers extending ban on USPS mail ballot changes
Under the new USPS rule, if a single ballot's barcode registers an error, the entire batch is thrown out.
A whistleblower report made public the week of the hearing warns that the postal system's requirements could lead to millions of mail ballots never being sent.
In June 2025, Talwani prohibited the administration from implementing Trump's executive order for the November election, ruling the changes came too close to voting.
GOP mail-in voting proposal could impact millions before midterms
Nearly a third of Americans vote by mail.
President Trump issued an executive order in March 2025 setting an Election Day deadline for when mail-in ballots can be received.
Laurel Lee served as Florida's secretary of state from 2019 until May 2022.
Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down South Carolina Mail-In Voting Restriction
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a South Carolina state law exempting voters over the age of 65 from absentee voting requirements is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit originated in 2023 when a group of younger voters sued the South Carolina Elections Commission, claiming the mail-in voting rule violated the 26th Amendment.
Chief Judge Roger Gregory stated that South Carolina must either allow all voters unrestricted absentee voting or allow none of them to have it.
“By granting voters aged sixty-five and older unconditional access to absentee-by-mail voting while conditioning that same option for younger voters on eligibility categories, documentation, and a rigid deadline, the state allocates voting opportunities unequally based solely on age,”
Federal Judge Continues Block on Trump Bid to Restrict Mail-In Voting
District Judge Indira Talwani blocked the US Postal Service's new ballot rules for 14 days.
A hearing on the refiled challenge is set for September 3.
The new rules mandate that states submit approved voter lists and adhere to new ballot formatting prior to USPS delivering voting slips.
“have neither time nor funds”
Trump administration appeals ruling blocking mail voting order
A federal judge in Boston blocked implementation of President Trump's mail voting executive order for the next two weeks.
The White House calls the plan a set of commonsense measures aimed at protecting ballot security.
Nearly one-third of Americans vote by mail.
“I’m hoping that federal judges continue to hold the line on their constitutional authority and duty,”
Federal judge halts Trump executive order limiting mail voting in midterms
Judge Talwani was nominated to the bench by Barack Obama.
The Supreme Court said the legal challenges against the executive order that led Talwani to initially freeze it were filed too soon.
The administration issued a formal rule intended to govern whether the US Postal Service will deliver states' mail ballots.
Judge temporarily blocks new Postal Service rules for mail-in voting
The USPS said it would not deliver ballots to any state not in compliance with the new changes.
The Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that the states lacked standing to challenge Trump's executive order at that stage.
The same judge had previously blocked Trump's executive order but lifted that decision after the Supreme Court ruled she had initially acted too quickly.
US Postal Service mail-in ballot restrictions in effect
Trump signed an executive order in March calling on his administration to create lists of eligible voters and for the Postal Service to deliver mail-in ballots only to those on those lists.
The Supreme Court did not decide on the constitutionality of Trump's executive order.
The new procedures mean the Postal Service would compile lists of eligible voters using input from US states and only deliver ballots to individuals on those lists.
“The government subsequently received such relief from those injunctions, meaning the injunctions no longer preclude the implementation of the Rule for November 3, 2026 or any earlier federal election,”
US Postal Service implements new mail ballot rules tied to Trump order
The supreme court's procedural ruling did not address the legality or constitutionality of the rule.
Two dozen states and the District of Columbia filed a fresh lawsuit on Wednesday to block the executive order restricting mail voting in this year's midterm elections.
US district judge Indira Talwani lifted her nationwide block on the implementation of the postal service change, citing the supreme court's decision.
Federal judge lifts final block on Trump mail-in voting order
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he is suing the Trump Administration to stop their unconstitutional attempt to change the rules and restrict mail-in voting.
The states argue that USPS skipped a review process for major nationwide changes to postal services or operations.
The Supreme Court stayed an earlier injunction against key parts of Trump's mail-voting executive order, finding the states' initial challenge was premature because USPS had not yet issued a final rule.
“Radical Democrats continue to oppose commonsense measures that protect the security of mail-in ballots and ensure only Americans are electing American leaders,”
Democratic states sue to block Trump order limiting mail voting in midterms
Judge Talwani said the executive order could unleash "chaos" and referred to it as "likely unconstitutional."
New York Attorney General Letitia James is one of 25 Democratic attorneys general who filed the lawsuit.
Trump issued an election executive order attempting to require documentary proof of citizenship to vote.
Supreme Court allows Trump vote-by-mail limits
Trump has pressed the Republican-controlled Congress to pass the Save America Act, a contentious package of voting restrictions.
A 2025 Brookings Institution study found roughly four cases of fraud for every 10 million mail ballots cast.
About 30% of all ballots were cast by mail in the 2024 presidential election, according to federal data.
US Postal Service Establishes New Procedures for Mail-In Ballots
The USPS announced that the rule will be officially published on August 26.
Under the proposed change, states would be required to attach basic voter information to a unique barcode on every distributed mail-in ballot.
State election authorities would have to enter voter information into a federal ballot mail portal before a ballot is accepted into the mail stream.
“Such enhanced visibility will help identify potential issues that would have otherwise gone undetected; at the very least, it will provide increased assurance that any potential issues are more capable of being effectively identified and investigated.”
US Postal Service mail-in ballot restrictions despite court ruling
The proposed rules would prevent the USPS from distributing mail-in ballots in states that do not comply with federal demands for voter records.
Trump returned to office for a second term in 2025.
States would be required to identify to the USPS any voters who have requested mail-in ballots.
USPS Enacts Stricter Mail-In Ballot Handling Rules Amid Court Scrutiny
Two federal court injunctions in California and Massachusetts currently block the USPS from implementing changes under a March executive order signed by Donald Trump.
The US Postal Service prepared to publish a final rule imposing new requirements on states to provide voter information to the federal government before the November midterm elections.
The USPS stated that it received more than 200,000 responses during the public comment period for its proposed rule change.
“If the government obtains timely relief from the injunctions, implementation immediately thereafter will provide election officials as much time as possible before the next election to comply with the rule’s preparation standards for Federal Ballot Mail envelopes, and to prepare to submit data to the Federal Ballot Mail Portal (‘Portal’), before the mail-in and absentee ballots subject to this rule are mailed (which generally occurs in September or thereafter, as determined by state law),”
USPS issues mail-in ballot restrictions despite court order
Leaders from 23 states and the District of Columbia challenged the Trump administration's proposed rules on mail-in voting.
The United States Postal Service published a final draft of its proposed rules restricting the use of mail-in ballots under President Donald Trump.
The proposed mail-in ballot rules have been blocked by the US court system.
“Where [Trump’s executive order] is presently causing confusion and threatening both increasing chaos and an erosion of trust in our democracy, the court finds that enfranchisement heavily outweighs the executive’s attempt to unconstitutionally insert itself into the domain of election regulation,”
Trump administration urges Supreme Court to allow mail-in voting order before midterms
Trump ordered the government in March to create a 'state citizenship list' of eligible voters and deliver mail ballots only to people on that list.
A response to the Trump administration's appeal is due August 3.
The Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration in June, finding that states can count ballots that arrive after Election Day.
“And the injunction is especially indefensible because the agencies are still deliberating over how (if at all) to implement the Order, yet the district court preemptively decided that whatever the agencies may choose to do will necessarily be unlawful,”