The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to enforce restrictions on mail-in voting, a lifeline for millions of voters of color. The decision comes in the midst of a pivotal midterm election as voters across the country decide control of Congress– and as voting-rights advocates warn that restrictions on mail-in voting could disenfranchise communities of color in several key states.
The decision follows an order from a Trump-appointed federal judge who late Sunday said that the U.S. Postal Service should not follow through on implementing the executive order. An appeals court last week also upheld a lower court’s ruling that blocked President Trump’s executive order.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, in her opinion on Monday, wrote that “The Government is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to the District Court’s preliminary injunction. And the equitable factors applicable for obtaining emergency relief from this Court do not favor a stay.”
Concurring with Jackson in the opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote, in part, “…state and local election officials do not have sufficient time to reasonably implement the rule before the elections.”
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented, writing, “The Government will suffer irreparable harm absent relief.”
As The Emancipator previously reported, last month the conservative majority high court also paused a lower court’s ruling that blocked President Trump’s executive order calling for the Homeland Security secretary, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Social Security Administration commissioner to compile a federal citizenship list to determine citizens eligible to vote. The executive order also directs the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to people on the lists.
Civil rights groups and voting rights groups applauded Monday’s Supreme Court’s decision. NAACP General Counsel Kristen Clarke called the ruling “a big victory for voters this midterm election season.”
“Mail voting is safe, secure, and deeply rooted in our nation’s history,” Clarke said in a statement. “The Court’s decision preserves a critical pathway to the ballot box and reaffirms that our democracy works best when every eligible voter can participate.”
Restricting mail-in voting would have a disparate impact on those who most use it, including Asian Americans who traditionally rely on mail-in voting, and other communities of color. Native Americans have also faced roadblocks to mail-in voting, including a high ballot rejection rate, according to civil rights groups and legal experts. Recently naturalized citizens, who may have language barriers, the elderly, and people with disabilities also rely on voting by mail.
A record number of Americans voted by mail, including Asian and Hispanic Americans, during the 2020 presidential election, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Many Americans also cast their ballots by mail during the 2024 presidential election.
And though mail-in voting restrictions ahead of the 2026 midterm elections have been struck down by the courts, voting rights advocates say the Trump administration’s actions have had a chilling impact on many voters.
On Wednesday, a coalition of Black and Latino civil rights and voting rights groups sent letters to governors, mayors and secretaries of state urging them to strengthen voter protections.
“There are people out there who are worried and concerned about voting by mail, and that’s what we’re battling right now,” Lourdes Rosado, President and General Counsel of LatinoJustice PRLDEF, a group that is part of the coalition, said during the press conference. “We’ve had some success in the courts for sure, but we understand that the courthouse cannot be the only space to battle these threats.”
Juan Proaño, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), another group that signed on to the letters, said his organization will continue to push back on threats aimed at intimidating and disenfranchising voters.
“Protecting a black voter strengthens a Latino voter. Protecting a Latino voter strengthens a Black voter, and when we defend the door together, it becomes a lot harder for anyone to close it,” Proaño said during the press conference.
This story has been updated with additional details and reporting.
