US Supreme Court Blocks Trump's Mail-in Ballot Restrictions The US Supreme Court has rejected President Donald Trump's bid to restrict mail-in ballots, dealing a setback to his effort to limit voting by mail ahead of the November midterms. The decision comes as states prepare to send out mail ballots to eligible voters. A federal judge in Washington, D.C. , U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, also ruled against the new rule on Sunday, blocking its implementation. Under the new rule, states must provide lists of mail ballot recipients to the Postal Service and use agency-approved outgoing and return ballot envelopes outfitted with unique barcodes. The Postal Service could then refuse to send out ballots that do not comply with the new standards or are associated with voters who do not appear on the lists. Critics have said the plan could disrupt the delivery of thousands of legitimate ballots as the November 3 midterm vote approaches and cause chaos. The administration has said the new rule will prevent voter fraud, though evidence of such fraud is rare.Trump signed his executive order targeting mail-in ballots after years of casting doubt on their security, though he often votes by mail himself. Trump has made false claims of widespread fraud in U.S. elections, including claims that fraud contributed to his 2020 loss to former Democratic president Joe Biden.The administration, in a Sept. 6 emergency request, urged the Supreme Court to allow it to implement an important federal policy to protect the mails from being used to commit voter fraud. A coalition of states, most of them Democratic-governed, and Washington, D.C. , as well as a number of voting rights groups, challenged the new USPS rule.U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston imposed an injunction on Sept. 4 blocking the rule, finding that it likely violated the U.S. Constitution, under which states administer elections. Talwani also said it would be impossible for the states to comply given the rapidly approaching midterms.The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston refused last Thursday to put Talwani's order on hold, saying that the rule will likely result in the disenfranchisement of millions of voters across the country while providing minimal - if any - gains in combating voter fraud. All 50 states allow for some form of mail-in voting. Of those, 29 states allow voters to request mail ballots without providing a reason, and eight conduct their elections entirely by mail.The battle over mail ballots is one in a series of efforts by the administration to boost federal involvement in voting ahead of the midterms. On Aug. 24, the Supreme Court lifted an earlier injunction imposed by Talwani in June blocking Trump's executive order, including the USPS rule before it had been finalized. An election worker places a vote-by-mail ballot into a secure bin at the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office during the Florida primary election, Aug. 18.The truth behind Trump's push to ban mail-in voting is not entirely clear, but it is likely linked to his efforts to limit Democratic voting. Trump has repeatedly made false claims about the security of mail-in ballots, saying they are prone to voter fraud.However, evidence of such fraud is rare, and many experts say that mail-in ballots are a safe and reliable way to vote. In a Sept. 6 emergency request, the Trump administration urged the Supreme Court to allow it to implement an important federal policy to protect the mails from being used to commit voter fraud.However, the justices denied the Justice Department's request to lift a ruling by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston that blocked the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing the measure while legal challenges by states and voting-rights groups proceed. The agency adopted the measure after Trump issued a March executive order aimed at tightening rules governing mail voting.