Fed Judge Rules Exec Order Restricting Vote by Mail Unconstitutional
NEWS & RESEARCH
On September 4, 2026, a federal judge blocked enforcement of President Trump’s executive order (EO) directing the postal service to only deliver mail-in ballots to states that provided the administration a list of its registered voters as unconstitutional. The administration has appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. On August 21, 2026, the Postal Service had published a final rule to implement Trump’s order that only states that share their voter data with the federal agency will receive mail ballots. And on August 24, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled, 6-3, that the EO was not illegal since no state had yet been harmed by the EO and it lifted the district court’s injunction “while the appellate process runs its course.” Meanwhile, with the SAVE Act languishing in the Senate and lower courts unanimously blocking Trump’s efforts to mandate that states turn over their voter rolls in advance of the mid-term elections, on August 11, 2026, the president refused to rule out declaring a “national emergency” to federalize the mid-term elections. When prompted whether he might declare a national emergency by a host on Real America’s Voice, Trump replied that "[st]ranger things have happened."
SOURCES: Newsweek| The Hill | New York Times | CNN | Democracy Docket
ANALYSIS & OPINION
Judge Indira Talwani ruled the EO “clashes with Congress’s statutory scheme, and is unconstitutional where it intrudes not only on Congress’s Elections Clause powers but also that power left to the States.” Even short of declaring a national emergency, the Trump administration is pursuing a coordinated, 15-tactic strategy to subvert the 2026 midterm elections and entrench executive power beyond constitutional limits, according to authors Michael Sozan and Ben Olinsky. They argue the administration is using executive orders, law enforcement intimidation, legislative pressure, voter roll purges, and disinformation—rooted in claims of voter fraud—to manipulate voting rules, restrict voter access, and assert unprecedented federal control over state-run elections.
SOURCES: Democracy Docket | Center for American Progress | CNN
HOW TO FIX IT
Federal action:
Block passage in the Senate of the SAVE Act, which would, among other things, require every American to provide burdensome documentation to register to vote in federal elections or change their voter registration, even though strict laws and safeguards already exist to ensure voters verify their eligibility. It is estimate that more than 21 million Americans don’t have access to the kind of documents this bill demands, which means nearly 10% of all voting-age Americans would face significant new barriers to the ballot.
Pass S.4369, the Absentee and Mail Voter Protection Act. The bill overturns president’s executive order, and prohibits the US Postal Service from using funds to implement, administer, enforce, or carry it out. The bill also supports relevant state election procedures.
State action:
Defend state election administrators against federal pressure in independently running their voting systems.
Litigation:
Uphold the decision of Judge Talwani on appeal.
Citizens groups and state attorney general should continue to sue to protect the integrity of state control over voting. Article 1 of the Constitution grants exclusive authority over election administration to Congress and the states.
Legislation: S.4369 - Absentee and Mail Voter Protection Act
