Trump Seeks Enforcement of Mail-In Ballot Order at Supreme Court

President Donald Trump is taking his election-integrity agenda directly to the Supreme Court after lower courts blocked major provisions of an executive order intended to strengthen citizenship verification and mail-ballot security before the November midterms.

The Trump administration filed an emergency application Monday asking the justices to suspend an injunction preventing federal agencies from implementing key portions of Executive Order 14399, titled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.”

Trump signed the order on March 31 after Senate Republicans failed to assemble the 60 votes needed to overcome Democratic opposition to the SAVE America Act. House Republicans have repeatedly advanced legislation requiring documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration and photo identification at the polls, but the proposal remains stalled in the upper chamber.

The executive order directs the Department of Homeland Security to consider compiling state-specific lists of confirmed U.S. citizens who will be at least 18 by an upcoming federal election. Those lists would be transmitted to state election officials and include procedures allowing citizens and states to correct inaccurate information.

It also directs the U.S. Postal Service to develop rules governing mail ballots, including unique tracking barcodes and standardized markings on ballot envelopes.

Under the proposed framework, states would provide lists of voters eligible to receive mail ballots, and the Postal Service would not transmit ballots associated with individuals missing from those lists. The order further instructs the Justice Department to prioritize investigations involving officials or organizations that knowingly distribute ballots to people ineligible to vote.

A coalition of 23 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia sued, arguing that the president lacks constitutional authority to dictate how states administer federal elections.

A federal judge in Massachusetts agreed and blocked enforcement of the order’s citizenship-list and mail-ballot provisions for elections occurring through November 3 in the states participating in the lawsuit.

The First Circuit Court of Appeals declined to suspend that injunction on July 25. Judge Julie Rikelman and Judge Gustavo Gelpí supported keeping the restrictions in place, while Judge Joshua Dunlap wrote separately that he would have allowed portions of the order to proceed.

The Trump administration argues that the lower courts acted prematurely because neither DHS nor the Postal Service has completed its implementation plans.

In its Supreme Court application, the administration emphasized that the order is not self-executing and repeatedly instructs federal agencies to act only when “consistent with applicable law.” The Postal Service has proposed—but not finalized—a rule, while DHS is still evaluating whether and how it could produce reliable citizenship lists.

The administration maintains that blocking the order now could prevent lawful security measures from being implemented in time for the midterms, even if the government ultimately prevails on appeal.

Twelve Republican-led states have intervened in support of Trump’s order, arguing that improved citizenship verification and mail-ballot tracking would help states maintain accurate voter rolls and protect public confidence in federal elections.

The legal fight comes amid new concerns about noncitizens appearing on state voter rolls.

New Jersey officials recently acknowledged that a software error mistakenly registered approximately 6,600 noncitizens between 2023 and 2024, with roughly 400 reportedly casting ballots. The Justice Department has demanded additional information as federal officials investigate how the registrations occurred.

The Department of Homeland Security has separately claimed that its comparisons identified more than 250,000 potential noncitizen registrations across California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Nevada. Those figures refer to potential matches requiring verification, not final determinations that every person identified was unlawfully registered or voted.

Conservative election activist Scott Presler also announced that Pennsylvania had recently removed tens of thousands of registrations from its rolls.

“You’re going to want to sit down for this one. The Pennsylvania Department of State just conducted a MASSIVE voter registration purge,” Presler announced.

“This comes after we have been exposing NON-CITIZENS on the PA voter rolls,” he continued. “Democrats just lost TENS of thousands of voters.

“The thing that never happens keeps happening!” Presler continued. “I’ll post the data shortly. Citizen journalism works.”

The precise reasons for those registration cancellations will require confirmation through official state records. Routine voter-list maintenance can include removing deceased voters, people who moved, duplicate registrations and individuals who failed to respond to legally required notices—not only noncitizens.

The Supreme Court is not yet being asked to issue a final ruling on every provision of Trump’s order. The immediate question is whether the administration may begin implementing it for the 2026 elections while the broader constitutional dispute continues through the courts.

The case could become one of the most consequential election-law disputes of the midterm cycle.

Republicans argue that confirming citizenship, tracking ballot envelopes and prosecuting the knowing distribution of ballots to ineligible individuals are basic safeguards. Democratic officials contend that Trump is attempting to transfer authority over elections from the states to federal agencies without congressional approval.

With Congress deadlocked, Trump is asking the Supreme Court to decide whether lower courts can prevent his administration from even developing those safeguards before voters cast their ballots in November.