Supreme Court Blocks Trump Administration’s Mail-In Ballot Restrictions

Supreme Court Rejects Postal Service Ballot Restrictions

Postal Service to enforce a policy requiring states to provide voter lists so officials could check them against a federal database before delivering mail ballots. Lower-court judges blocked the policy in three separate cases across Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. The Supreme Court’s brief order stated that the government was unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge.

“The government is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to the District Court’s preliminary injunction,” the court wrote in its order.

Kristen Clarke, general counsel for the NAACP and former assistant attorney general for civil rights, praised the outcome. Clarke stated that the decision is a big victory for voters because mail voting is safe, secure, and deeply rooted in the nation’s history.

Conversely, Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, dissented from the ruling. Alito pointed out that the court previously labeled claims in the case as a “Hail Mary pass” that rarely succeeds. President Trump criticized the decision as another bad choice by the court that would turn the country into a laughing stock.

Broader Legal Battles Over State Voter Lists

The clash over mail ballots stems from a broader, ongoing dispute over state voter registration data. The Trump administration has fought in dozens of cases to compel states to turn over their voter lists to confirm citizenship by comparing names against the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database.

The U.S. Department of Justice lost 23 lower-court cases attempting to force states to hand over those lists. Constitution explicitly grants states control over the times, places, and manner of holding congressional elections. When courts blocked those efforts, the Postal Service adopted the separate delivery-restriction policy that the Supreme Court ultimately left blocked.

Mixed Judicial Outcomes for the Administration

While the mail ballot ruling favored voting rights advocates, the Supreme Court has otherwise delivered several major wins for the administration and the Republican Party on election-related matters. The justices sided with the administration in multiple redistricting cases designed to protect Republican majorities in Congress. The court also ruled in favor of Republicans in two campaign-finance cases concerning broadcast advertising rates and party spending.

However, the high court also ruled against the administration regarding how congressional maps were drawn in California and Missouri. Additionally, the court permitted states to maintain grace periods for counting mailed ballots—a practice that President Trump campaigned against.