By Alethia Kasben
Gngwer News Service
A rule that would have given the United States Postal Service broad authority over ballots being sent and delivered by mail will remain blocked heading into the November election after the U.S. Supreme Court left in place previous injunctions on the proposal.
Under the rule, which followed a March 2026 executive order signed by President Donald Trump, the USPS would have screened ballot envelopes after being submitted by state elections officials. Additionally, states would have been required to submit lists of voters approved to receive mail ballots, and the USPS would have delivered ballots only to the voters on the list.
Democrats and voting rights advocates praised the decision, which was the last of several since the USPS published the rule on Aug. 26 and indicated it would take effect immediately. Absentee ballots are set to go out in the next week.
“Every court that has reviewed this case has refused to allow this White House’s most recent attempt to disenfranchise voters ahead of the midterms,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. “With Michigan ballots being mailed out in days, I am profoundly relieved that the Supreme Court has backed our voters, our clerks, and the Constitution against the Trump administration’s manufactured chaos and confusion. Here in Michigan, we have long led the fight to protect the right to vote, and while federal interference in state-run elections will likely continue, I am confident we will succeed in protecting that right from whatever comes next.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who is running for governor, also praised the court’s decision.
Whitmer, in a statement, said the Constitution is clear that states run elections, not the federal government.
“(The) decision by the U.S. Supreme Court rejects the federal government’s unlawful attempt to rewrite the rules on mail-in ballots, protecting the right to vote for millions of Michiganders who cast their ballot by mail,” she said. “I’m proud to have joined Secretary Benson and Attorney General Nessel in this fight to protect our elections from interference. Michiganders amended our constitution to guarantee the right to vote securely by mail, and today’s ruling upholds that freedom. Our elections are safe and secure, and I encourage all eligible voters to make a plan to vote this fall.”
Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, who is the Democratic nominee for secretary of state, in a statement reacting to the decision, said he will always put voters first.
“Michigan voters are fortunate that this terrible executive order was rejected by the Supreme Court, but we should all be clear about the stakes,” he said. “This executive order would make it harder for millions of Michiganders to cast a ballot by mail and put the Trump administration in charge of determining who gets a ballot and who does not.”
In a joint statement, Rep Matt Koleszar, D-Plymouth, Rep. Stephen Wooden, D-Grand Rapids, and Rep. Mai Xiong, D-Warren, said multiple election-related actions from the administration have been rejected by the courts.
“Make no doubt about it, Donald Trump has never accepted election results he didn’t like,” the statement said. “If he doesn’t get his way in November, he’ll try to cast doubt, peddle conspiracies, and undermine the results. Don’t let him or his allies in Michigan trick you.”
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, slammed the U.S. Supreme Court for the decision.
“It is a big loss for Republicans, and America itself, and makes cheating by the Radical Left ‘Dumocrats,’ on Mail-In Ballots, a much easier thing to do - And now they have an open field to do so!” he wrote. “The Supreme Court has really let our Country down! Certain Justices are petrified of these crazed and depraved Democrats and are totally unable to show the courage necessary to save our America.”
Gngwer News Service
A rule that would have given the United States Postal Service broad authority over ballots being sent and delivered by mail will remain blocked heading into the November election after the U.S. Supreme Court left in place previous injunctions on the proposal.
Under the rule, which followed a March 2026 executive order signed by President Donald Trump, the USPS would have screened ballot envelopes after being submitted by state elections officials. Additionally, states would have been required to submit lists of voters approved to receive mail ballots, and the USPS would have delivered ballots only to the voters on the list.
Democrats and voting rights advocates praised the decision, which was the last of several since the USPS published the rule on Aug. 26 and indicated it would take effect immediately. Absentee ballots are set to go out in the next week.
“Every court that has reviewed this case has refused to allow this White House’s most recent attempt to disenfranchise voters ahead of the midterms,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. “With Michigan ballots being mailed out in days, I am profoundly relieved that the Supreme Court has backed our voters, our clerks, and the Constitution against the Trump administration’s manufactured chaos and confusion. Here in Michigan, we have long led the fight to protect the right to vote, and while federal interference in state-run elections will likely continue, I am confident we will succeed in protecting that right from whatever comes next.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who is running for governor, also praised the court’s decision.
Whitmer, in a statement, said the Constitution is clear that states run elections, not the federal government.
“(The) decision by the U.S. Supreme Court rejects the federal government’s unlawful attempt to rewrite the rules on mail-in ballots, protecting the right to vote for millions of Michiganders who cast their ballot by mail,” she said. “I’m proud to have joined Secretary Benson and Attorney General Nessel in this fight to protect our elections from interference. Michiganders amended our constitution to guarantee the right to vote securely by mail, and today’s ruling upholds that freedom. Our elections are safe and secure, and I encourage all eligible voters to make a plan to vote this fall.”
Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, who is the Democratic nominee for secretary of state, in a statement reacting to the decision, said he will always put voters first.
“Michigan voters are fortunate that this terrible executive order was rejected by the Supreme Court, but we should all be clear about the stakes,” he said. “This executive order would make it harder for millions of Michiganders to cast a ballot by mail and put the Trump administration in charge of determining who gets a ballot and who does not.”
In a joint statement, Rep Matt Koleszar, D-Plymouth, Rep. Stephen Wooden, D-Grand Rapids, and Rep. Mai Xiong, D-Warren, said multiple election-related actions from the administration have been rejected by the courts.
“Make no doubt about it, Donald Trump has never accepted election results he didn’t like,” the statement said. “If he doesn’t get his way in November, he’ll try to cast doubt, peddle conspiracies, and undermine the results. Don’t let him or his allies in Michigan trick you.”
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, slammed the U.S. Supreme Court for the decision.
“It is a big loss for Republicans, and America itself, and makes cheating by the Radical Left ‘Dumocrats,’ on Mail-In Ballots, a much easier thing to do - And now they have an open field to do so!” he wrote. “The Supreme Court has really let our Country down! Certain Justices are petrified of these crazed and depraved Democrats and are totally unable to show the courage necessary to save our America.”
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