Trump Order Targets 1-in-3 Mail Voters, Raising Midterm Legal Risks
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 9
Trump Order Targets 1-in-3 Mail Voters, Raising Midterm Legal Risks
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 9
Summary
Nearly 1 in 3 U.S. voters could be affected by President Trump’s executive order directing the Postal Service to decide who receives mail-in ballots.
The order would require states to send voter-eligibility lists with unique bar codes to the Postal Service, creating a new verification system that critics say could block ballots over minor mismatches.
Legal concerns center on presidential authority: election administration is set by states, with Congress able to alter those rules, not the White House.
Trump says the move would curb voter fraud, but the report says fraud in U.S. mail voting is vanishingly rare and that the directive has already stirred bipartisan alarm among state and local election officials.
The dispute now points toward the Supreme Court, with opponents arguing the justices should halt the order before it disrupts the 2026 midterms.