US Supreme Court Rejects Trump Administration Bid to Restrict Mail Ballots

The Supreme Court of the United States rejected an attempt by President Donald Trump's administration to tighten the rules governing mail-in voting, weeks before the midterm elections. The ruling leaves state election officials free to distribute and count mail ballots using the procedures they have used for years.

Euronews reported that mail voting has accounted for close to a third of all ballots cast in recent American elections. Changing the rules weeks before an election would have required states to rewrite procedures and notify voters on short notice, which is the practical reason courts have generally declined to make late changes regardless of the merits.

The Trump administration has argued that mail voting is vulnerable to fraud. State election officials from both parties say their verification systems work and that documented fraud cases are rare. The court's decision does not resolve that dispute. It settles the operational question of which rules apply in November.

For anyone assessing American policy risk, the significance is procedural certainty about a close contest. Control of Congress will determine whether the next two years bring further tax legislation, changes to tariff authority and spending decisions, at a time when the Treasury is financing wider deficits at a 10-year yield near 5 percent.