Donald Trump’s March executive order aimed to restrict mail-in voting by preventing the US Postal Service from delivering ballots to individuals the administration classified as ineligible. Under the directive, the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration would have jointly compiled a list of allegedly ineligible noncitizen voters. Critics argued the order was unconstitutional, as federal authorities cannot unilaterally set election rules—a power reserved for states.
The plan faced significant implementation challenges. A postal service whistleblower informed Congress earlier this month that the system could not be safely executed and was “perilously rushed and potentially unlawful,” according to Senator Richard Blumenthal. State election officials also objected that implementation would be impossible so close to an election. Several states including Alabama, North Carolina, and Wisconsin had already begun distributing ballots before the Supreme Court’s intervention.
The Supreme Court rejected Trump’s plan, with justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissenting while Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch—both Trump nominees—sided against the administration. Trump responded sharply on Truth Social, characterizing mail-in ballots as “corrupt and out of control” and criticizing the conservative justices who opposed him.
State election officials are working to assure voters they can safely vote by mail this fall. Research from the Brookings Institution indicates mail voting fraud rates average 0.000043% across recent general elections. Democrats typically vote by mail at higher rates than Republicans, meaning restrictions would benefit the GOP. Trump has focused on mail voting concerns since 2020, when late-counted mail ballots narrowed his margins in key states, despite having voted by mail himself multiple times since then.
In Florida’s 27th congressional district, Republican Representative María Elvira Salazar released an advertisement distancing herself from Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts, stating that some policies “have gone too far.” She faces a Democratic challenger in the race.
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