# Supreme Court blocks Trump's mail ballot rules

> The justices left a freeze on new Postal Service ballot rules in place, so states can keep mailing ballots for the midterms.
- Title: Supreme Court blocks Trump's mail ballot rules · ABC News
- Summary: The justices left a freeze on new Postal Service ballot rules in place, so states can keep mailing ballots for the midterms. The mail-in ballot restrictions…
- Keywords: supreme court, mail-in voting, midterms, trump, election law, news, Supreme, Court, blocks, Trump's, mail, ballot
- Source: ABC News — https://abcnews.com/Politics/supreme-court-rejects-trump-administrations-attempt-restrict-mail/story?id=136442477
- Author: ABC News
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: supreme court, mail-in voting, midterms, trump, election law, news
## Court says no, for now
The Supreme Court refused to let the Trump administration limit mail-in voting, leaving a lower court's block on new Postal Service rules in place.

> The Government is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to the District Court's preliminary injunction
## Ballots keep going out
States can continue mailing ballots to voters as planned ahead of the midterms, with no change to how they are designed or addressed.
## What Trump wanted
Every mail ballot would carry a barcode tied to a voter's name and address, and states would hand USPS a list. Carriers would deliver only to names on it.
## Modest, says the government
The administration called the rules light touch: small ballot design and review requirements, plus recipient data it argued was neither onerous nor intrusive.
## A federal grab, say states
Democratic-led states and voter groups called it an attempt to federalize elections that the Constitution leaves to the states, and to make voting by mail harder.
## Alito and Thomas dissent
In an eight-page dissent, Alito wrote that the Postal Service has wide power over the mail and that the challengers lacked standing to sue.

> The Postal Service has broad authority to regulate the mail.
## Punted to 2028
Kavanaugh sided with the majority only on timing, saying officials had too little time to comply. At least three justices are open to the argument next round.

> state and local election officials do not have sufficient time to reasonably implement the rule before the elections
## Key takeaway

The mail-in ballot restrictions are off the table for 2026, but three justices signaled they would take the case up again in 2028.