Trump’s Mail Voting Plan Is Coming to a Head. Here’s What to Know.
The administration’s plan to screen mail-in ballots remains blocked as the Supreme Court considers challenges to new U.S. Postal Service ballot rules.
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The administration’s plan to screen mail-in ballots remains blocked as the Supreme Court considers challenges to new U.S. Postal Service ballot rules.
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· 6:18 min
Sept. 8, 2026, 12:22 p.m. ET
With only weeks to go before the midterms, the Trump administration continues to try to press forward with plans to restrict voting by mail, even as its new rules remain frozen by the courts.
Prompted by an executive order by President Trump, the U.S. Postal Service adopted new rules for states that allow voting by mail — rules that some states have warned would be nearly impossible to comply with in time for the midterms.
The proposed limits on mail-in voting are the latest effort by Mr. Trump to sow doubt about voter fraud in American elections. Since his loss in the 2020 presidential election, he has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that fraud is rampant among mail votes.
The new rules remain blocked as of Tuesday, while the Supreme Court considers the legality of the plan. But the scramble over the proposal has left local officials and voters confused less than two months before the midterms.
What would the Postal Service do under Trump’s plan, if it is allowed?
If the Postal Service plan is allowed to go into effect before the midterms, the agency would not deliver mail ballots in states that do not give voter data to the Postal Service, and it would deliver only ballots that meet certain criteria.
The new rules would force states to send lists of voters who receive mail-in ballots to the Postal Service. Although the Postal Service has said that the lists must be uploaded through a government portal, the portal is not yet live and online.
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