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Trump again asks supreme court to restrict mail-in voting as midterms loom

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Cite

Dunbar, M. (2026, September 6). Trump again asks supreme court to restrict mail-in voting as midterms loom. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/06/trump-administration-supreme-court-mail-in-voting

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-09-06 · by Marina Dunbar

Quick Summary

The Trump administration has appealed to the US Supreme Court for a third time to allow restrictions on mail-in voting, despite a federal judge's order blocking the new limits ahead of November's midterm elections. Nearly one-third of US voters cast their ballots by mail, and states are already sending out ballots, making it unlikely that major changes can be implemented in time. The administration argues that its plan is necessary to protect voting security, but Democratic states and voting rights groups say the ordered changes are unconstitutional. The outcome of this legal fight could have significant consequences for control of Congress in this year's elections.
Written by AI on 2026-09-07, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Here's a summary of the news story:

The Trump administration has been trying to implement new rules for mail-in voting, which would require states to provide lists of eligible voters to the US Postal Service (USPS) so that they can verify who receives mail-in ballots. However, this move has been met with opposition from states and election officials, who claim it would be "virtually impossible" to comply with these changes in time for the midterm elections.

A federal judge, Massachusetts District Judge Indira Talwani, issued a preliminary injunction on Friday evening blocking the new rules while a legal battle plays out. The Trump administration has already asked the Supreme Court for permission to push the changes through, but it's unclear if this will be allowed.

Meanwhile, North Carolina became the first state to start sending out mail-in ballots on Friday, despite the uncertainty over whether these new federal rules will be allowed to take effect and whether the USPS can implement them in time. Other states are expected to follow suit in the coming days and weeks.

There is also a whistleblower who has warned that there could be "potentially catastrophic problems" with the new system for handling mail-in ballots, which could lead to millions of ballots being undelivered.

Overall, the situation is uncertain and chaotic, with multiple lawsuits and legal battles playing out over these new rules.

Written for “Mail Voting Disputes with Trump” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 36 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Mail Voting Disputes with Trump
Politics · 37 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 13% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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⚖️ Leans right Hedges 2 of 20 claims Outlet record 59/100
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⚖️ Leans right Hedges 2 of 15 claims Outlet record 60/100
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⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 5 of 15 claims Outlet record 60/100
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⚖️ Leans right Hedges 2 of 19 claims Outlet record 64/100
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Hedges 2 of 19 claims Outlet record 66/100
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Hedges 2 of 16 claims Outlet record 69/100
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Hedges 1 of 13 claims Outlet record 56/100
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Hedges 1 of 19 claims Outlet record 66/100
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⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 4 of 25 claims Outlet record 59/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
15
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
13%
2 of 15 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
37
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-07 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Marina Dunbar
40 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 40 articles by Marina Dunbar →

Topics

Alabama North Carolina USPS the Postal Service the US Postal Service

Subjects

USPS ORG · 3× Trump PERSON · 2× Alabama GPE · 1× Donald Trump’s PERSON · 1× Indira Talwani PERSON · 1× John Sauer PERSON · 1× North Carolina GPE · 1× Sauer PERSON · 1× the Postal Service ORG · 1× the US Postal Service ORG · 1×

Narrative

The legal fight was continuing as states begin sending out ballots for voters to vote by mail – giving the administration little time to make major changes to the rules. “Ballots have already begun to be mailed in North Carolina, and more states will begin the mailing process as the injunction remains in place – including Alabama on September 9 and at least five states the week of September 13,” the solicitor general, John Sauer, said in the filing to the supreme court on Sunday. “Once those ballot envelopes enter the mailstream, there is no retrieving them.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-07
🔮 The legal fight was continuing as states begin sending out ballots for voters to vote by mail – giving the administration little time to make major changes to the rules. “Ballots have already begun to be mailed in North Carolina, and more states will begin the mailing process as the injunction remains in place – including Alabama on September 9 and at least five states the week of September 13,” the solicitor general, John Sauer, said in the filing to the supreme court on Sunday. “Once those ballot envelopes enter the mailstream, there is no retrieving them.
2026-09-07 · The Guardian
Trump again asks supreme court to restrict mail-in voting as midterms loom · assertive framing

Claims (15 extracted, 2 hedged)

The Trump administration renewed its appeal to the US supreme court on Sunday to allow restrictions on mail-in voting, after a federal judge had blocked new limits on such ballots, just ahead of November’s midterm elections. asserted
judge → renew → elections
The latest filing follows a decision by US district court judge Indira Talwani on Friday to extend a court order preventing the US Postal Service (USPS) from enforcing Donald Trump’s executive order. asserted
filing → follow → order
The legal fight was continuing as states begin sending out ballots for voters to vote by mail – giving the administration little time to make major changes to the rules. “Ballots have already begun to be mailed in North Carolina, and more states will begin the mailing process as the injunction remains in place – including Alabama on September 9 and at least five states the week of September 13,” the solicitor general, John Sauer, said in the filing to the supreme court on Sunday. “Once those ballot envelopes enter the mailstream, there is no retrieving them. asserted
envelopes → continue → them
And while the injunction allows the Postal Service and the states to continue taking steps to ensure that their envelopes satisfy the rule’s requirements … each day the injunction is in place risks sowing confusion and chaos because the injunction makes those preparatory steps voluntary, rather than mandatory,” Sauer continued in the emergency application. asserted
Sauer → allow → application
It is the third time the administration has asked the highest court in the US to step into the dispute and that court has allowed the plan to move forward but has not decided whether it was legal. asserted
it → ask → dispute
The outcome of the wrangling could have significant consequences for this year’s elections, with control of Congress on the line. uncertain
control → have → line
Nearly one-third of US voters cast their ballots by mail. asserted
third → cast → mail
The US president signed an executive order in March that would prohibit the USPS from delivering ballots to any voters not on a federal list of citizens deemed eligible to vote in each state by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). asserted
that → sign → Security
The result would mean a limited delivery of ballots – ie only to voters on approved lists. asserted
result → mean → lists
Democratic states and voting rights groups argue the ordered changes are unconstitutional, while state election officials who run the elections say there is not enough time to overhaul their systems to meet the new federal directives. asserted
who → argue → directives
The Trump administration has called its plans to limit mail-in ballots “commonsense measures” which are aimed at protecting voting security, and further called the order blocking those plans “unreasoned and unlawful”. asserted
which → call → plans
Trump has repeatedly sought to restrict voting by mail, despite having often used the method himself. asserted
Trump → seek → method
He has falsely blamed mail balloting for his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, while promoting baseless claims of fraud. uncertain
He → blame → fraud
The USPS has said it stands ready to implement Trump’s new restrictions, which would require states to give the postal service the names and barcodes tied to mail-in ballots for federal elections, if the court injunctions are lifted. asserted
injunctions → say → elections
- The Associated Press contributed reporting asserted
Press → contribute → reporting
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