Supreme Court Gives Trump Preliminary Win on Mail-In Voting Restrictions

The Supreme Court, divided 6-3 along ideological lines, lifted on Monday, August 24, 2026 a Massachusetts-based judge's June injunction that had blocked key provisions of Trump's March 2026 executive order restricting mail-in voting from taking effect this year in California and 22 other states. The unsigned majority opinion found the states' challenge premature since the order had not yet been enforced; Justices Jackson, Sotomayor, and Kagan dissented. The order directs DHS to compile citizenship lists for each state, instructs the Attorney General to prioritize prosecuting officials who issue ballots to ineligible voters, and requires the Postal Service to withhold ballots from voters not on official enrollment lists. The ruling is narrow — a separate lower-court order still blocks the plan in full — but hands Trump momentum weeks before officials begin mailing midterm ballots.