The Trump administration filed a supplemental brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, requesting an immediate decision to stay a lower court ruling that blocks parts of an executive order concerning mail-in voting. U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that the court must act to prevent "irreparable harm" to election integrity, as mail-in and absentee voting in some states is scheduled to begin in one month.
The dispute stems from Executive Order 14120, "Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections," signed by President Donald Trump on March 31. The order includes provisions for the Department of Homeland Security to create citizenship lists and for the U.S. Attorney General to prioritize investigations into officials who issue ballots to ineligible voters. A third provision, Section 3, directs the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to create its own lists of eligible voters and prohibits the agency from mailing ballots to individuals not on those lists.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Massachusetts previously barred the government from implementing these restrictions in 23 states and the District of Columbia through November 3, 2026. The government appealed this decision, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit declined to pause the ruling. The administration then petitioned the Supreme Court on July 27. On Wednesday, the government cited a new nationwide injunction issued by Judge Talwani on Tuesday in a separate case brought by the League of Women Voters as further justification for Supreme Court intervention.
The administration contends that the legal challenges are not "ripe" for review because agencies have not yet finalized how they will implement the order. Conversely, the 23 states challenging the order, led by California, argue that the executive order establishes a "legally indefensible voter-verification and ballot-interception program." They maintain that the order’s specific timelines create an immediate dilemma and concrete injury for states currently preparing for the upcoming federal elections.
The scale of this policy involves 23 states and D.C., representing a significant portion of the national electorate ahead of the November 2026 federal elections. For an individual voter, this change would be noticeable if they are registered with their state but excluded from the USPS list; in such a case, their requested mail-in ballot would not be delivered by the postal service. State officials have argued that these requirements impose immediate deadlines and legal conflicts, as they are currently in the process of facilitating mail-in and absentee balloting for the upcoming cycle.
The case also sets a precedent regarding the extent of executive authority over the U.S. Postal Service and the federal government's role in verifying voter eligibility, which is traditionally managed by individual states. A Supreme Court ruling would determine whether the administration can proceed with these citizenship verification measures or if the lower court's bar remains in place through the election. While the government has requested a prompt decision, the Supreme Court has not yet set a specific date for its ruling, though the administration noted that voting begins in some states in September.