Trump urges Supreme Court to unblock USPS mail voting restrictions

The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to lift a federal judge’s order blocking a U.S. Postal Service plan aimed at restricting mail-in voting for the midterm elections. The request, filed on Wednesday, seeks to revive a policy that would require states to share voter information with USPS and add special barcodes to mail-ballot envelopes. A temporary restraining order from a Boston federal court has kept the plan on hold since its issuance in late August.

The legal battle centers on a USPS policy revised last month that was framed as a way to regulate mail and curb potential fraud, citing a March executive order from President Trump. Critics argue the plan is a thinly veiled attempt to disrupt voting access ahead of November’s elections. While USPS insists the changes are administrative, opponents call it an overreach—one that could delay or disqualify ballots by imposing new tracking and verification steps states may not be ready to meet.

A whistleblower report obtained by NPR claims USPS has not properly tested the online system meant to collect voter data and lacks a reliable method to verify barcode envelopes in time for the midterms. Election experts warn the changes could cause chaos, especially since several states begin mailing absentee ballots this week. North Carolina starts distributing ballots on Friday, marking the official start of the midterm voting season, with dozens more states following in the weeks ahead.

The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the legality of the plan, though it previously declined to fast-track one related lawsuit. For now, mail-in voting remains unchanged for most voters, as the restraining order remains in effect. The outcome could determine whether millions of ballots arrive on time—or get caught in a new layer of postal bureaucracy designed to slow them down.