Supreme Court allows Trump to implement parts of order restricting mail voting
The Supreme Court divided 6-3 in granting the Trump administration's request for emergency relief.
Updated on: August 24, 2026 / 6:50 PM EDT / CBS News
Washington — The Supreme Court on Monday allowed President Trump's administration to move ahead with implementing key portions of an executive order that seeks to tighten the rules for mail voting ahead of the November midterm elections.
In a 6-3 ruling, the high court granted a request for emergency relief sought by the Trump administration late last month in a case involving 23 Democratic-led states. The Justice Department had asked the Supreme Court to lift a lower court's injunction that stopped agencies from carrying out parts of Mr. Trump's directive, which involves the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Postal Service, in those states and the District of Columbia.
The high court said in its unsigned decision that the states filed their lawsuit too soon.
"The Court's disposition of this application does not mean that any measure taken by the Government to implement the Order will necessarily be lawful," the Supreme Court said in an unsigned decision. "On that score, time will tell. But the Order itself does not harm the States, so the District Court lacked jurisdiction to bar the Government from trying to implement it."
The move from the high court clears the way for the Department of Homeland Security to move forward with a proposal to create lists of residents in each state who are eligible to vote.