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Kimberly Jones Merchant

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"Federal law does not mandate that ballots be received by state officials before Election Day's conclusion, and the panel's contrary holding is erroneous."

"The Fifth Circuit’s analysis runs counter to the plain text of the federal laws it interprets."

"We think there is a good chance the Supreme Court will undertake review, and reverse the Fifth Circuit so that the ruling won’t have any effect even in the states covered by the Fifth Circuit."

“Congress set a national election day to avoid the ‘evils’ of burdening citizens with multiple election days and of risking undue influence upon voters in one state from the announced tallies in states voting earlier. Neither of those concerns,” he concluded, “is raised by allowing a reasonable interval for ballots cast and postmarked by election day to arrive by mail.”

“Federal law requires voters to take timely steps to vote by Election Day,”

"Fifth Circuit’s interpretation will require Mississippi to amend or abandon its five-business-day receipt grace period for federal races and will likely call into question similar laws in other states that allow ballots to arrive after election day."

"The Supreme Court should uphold the historic decision by the Fifth Circuit that sensibly concluded that counting ballots received after Election Day is unlawful.”

"Federal law clearly says that ballots must be received by Election Day."

Will the US Supreme Court Conclude Mail-In Ballots Cannot be Counted After Election Day?

Donald Trump

Karoline Leavitt

David Becker

Michael S. Kang

Rick Hasen

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Richard H. Pildes

Debra Cleaver

Protect Democracy

Michael Schwarz

James Gardner

"The president does not have direct executive power over elections to ban mail voting."

"The president does not have any legal authority over the administration of mail voting."

"The President plays literally no role in elections, and that's by design of the founders."

“The President has no power constitutionally to dictate to states the manner in which they conduct national elections."

"[Trump's mail-in ballot ban] would violate the Constitution and is a major step to prevent free and fair elections."

"[Trump] would need the cooperation of Congress [to ban mail-in ballots], which I think he'd be unlikely to get to have any kind of federal interference with how the midterm elections will be run."

"While the attorney general does not have the authority to prevent states from following their own laws for counting ballots, this command sets up a potential conflict between the federal government and the states over the counting of ballots in the days after Election Day."

"[Trump] might soon announce a long-promised executive order on the subject."

“The White House is working on an executive order to strengthen our elections in this country, and to ensure that there cannot be blatant fraud, as we’ve seen in California, with their universal mail-in voting system."

"I’m going to do an executive order ending vote by mail.'”

Will Trump Ban US States From Using Mail-In Ballots by the 2026 Midterm Elections?

An anonymous federal whistleblower warned that the U.S. Postal Service's new Federal Ballot Mail Portal, developed to carry out a Trump executive order on mail-in voting, was built on a rushed timeline with minimal testing and could disrupt mail ballot delivery ahead of the November midterms.

An anonymous federal whistleblower warned that the U.S. Postal Service's new Federal Ballot Mail Portal, developed to carry out a Trump executive order on mail-in voting, was built on a rushed timeline with minimal testing and could disrupt mail ballot delivery ahead of the November midterms.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., sent a letter to Postmaster General David Steiner after receiving the whistleblower disclosure, urging the agency to halt its mail-voting plans and requesting records and communications about the system's creation be submitted to his office by Sept. 8.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., sent a letter to Postmaster General David Steiner after receiving the whistleblower disclosure, urging the agency to halt its mail-voting plans and requesting records and communications about the system's creation be submitted to his office by Sept. 8.

The whistleblower complaint, prepared by Whistleblower Aid and released Tuesday, alleged that USPS continued work on its ballot mail IT systems even after U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani issued orders barring the agency from moving forward with implementation.

The whistleblower complaint, prepared by Whistleblower Aid and released Tuesday, alleged that USPS continued work on its ballot mail IT systems even after U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani issued orders barring the agency from moving forward with implementation.

Under the USPS system, state election officials must submit voter names, addresses and unique ballot barcodes to the Federal Ballot Mail Portal. If a single barcode in a batch of up to 10,000 ballots fails to scan correctly, the entire batch is rejected and returned to state officials.

Under the USPS system, state election officials must submit voter names, addresses and unique ballot barcodes to the Federal Ballot Mail Portal. If a single barcode in a batch of up to 10,000 ballots fails to scan correctly, the entire batch is rejected and returned to state officials.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to allow the USPS policy to take effect, finding the legal challenge premature, though the court noted its decision "does not mean that any measure taken by the Government to implement the Order will necessarily be lawful."

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to allow the USPS policy to take effect, finding the legal challenge premature, though the court noted its decision "does not mean that any measure taken by the Government to implement the Order will necessarily be lawful."

USPS finalized its new mail ballot rule on Aug. 21, after which updated legal challenges were filed, leading Judge Talwani to temporarily block the rule again. North Carolina began sending mail ballots to some voters in late August, with several other states set to follow in mid-September.

USPS finalized its new mail ballot rule on Aug. 21, after which updated legal challenges were filed, leading Judge Talwani to temporarily block the rule again. North Carolina began sending mail ballots to some voters in late August, with several other states set to follow in mid-September.

Whistleblower warns Postal Service's new mail ballot system has "potentially catastrophic problems"

Whistleblower warns Postal Service's new mail ballot system has "potentially catastrophic problems"

The Controversies

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Whistleblower warns Postal Service's new mail ballot system has "potentially catastrophic problems"

Whistleblower warns Postal Service's new mail ballot system has "potentially catastrophic problems"

The Controversies

Jr.

Elias

Amar

Jr.

Oldham

Wilmer

Fitton

Snead

Kang

Becker

Pildes

Hasen

Justice

Schwarz

Leavitt

Trump

Go Deeper

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