Supreme Court Rejects Trump's Mail Ballot Restrictions

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected President Donald Trump's bid to restrict mail-in ballots ahead of the midterm elections. This decision permits states to continue their established procedures for distributing mail ballots, a method used for nearly a third of all votes cast.

The ruling represents a significant setback for Trump, who has consistently emphasized restricting mail-in voting as crucial for election integrity, despite a lack of widespread evidence of fraud associated with the practice. The majority of the justices indicated that the administration's push for these restrictions was unlikely to prevail in court.

The Trump administration had sought the court's approval to implement the restrictions before the pivotal November contests. The administration argued that the Postal Service possessed broad authority to regulate mail handling. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas publicly dissented from the majority opinion.

State officials and voting rights groups had challenged the proposed restrictions, arguing the president lacked the constitutional authority to impose election rules that would effectively eliminate mail voting on the eve of major elections. Lower courts had previously agreed to block Trump's plan.