Trump administration makes another Supreme Court appeal on mail ballot fight

Updated on: September 6, 2026 / 9:01 PM EDT

/ CBS/AP

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The Trump administration has once again asked the Supreme Court to intervene in its fight to restrict mail ballots ahead of the midterms.The filing on Sunday comes just two days after U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani extended an order against the U.S. Postal Service enforcing President Trump's executive order for the November elections."Ballots have already begun to be mailed in North Carolina, and more States will begin the mailing process as the injunction remains in place — including Alabama on September 9 and at least five States the week of September 13," Solicitor General John Sauer said in the filing. "Once those ballot envelopes enter the mailstream, there is no retrieving them. And while the injunction allows the Postal Service and the States to continue taking steps to ensure that their envelopes satisfy the Rule's requirements ... each day the injunction is in place risks sowing confusion and chaos because the injunction makes those preparatory steps voluntary, rather than mandatory."The appeal marks the third time the administration has asked the high court to intervene. The high court has allowed the plan to move forward but not ruled on whether it is legal.The battle could have major ramifications for this year's elections, when control of Congress is at stake. Nearly one-third of voters in the U.S. cast mail ballots.Democratic states and voting rights groups say the changes are unconstitutional. Election officials contend there isn't enough time to revise their systems to comply with the new Postal Service directives, including unique barcodes, and to submit to an online portal information about residents who will vote by mail, including their names, addresses and the individualized barcodes.But state and local election officials have raised concerns about their ability to comply with the requirements so soon before the Nov. 3 midterms. They said in court filings that ballot envelopes have already been ordered and printed.