North Carolina begins sending mail-in ballots amid Trump administration legal push to restrict the practice
The first state to issue midterm ballots starts distribution while the Trump administration seeks Supreme Court approval for new federal screening rules that a lower court blocked.
What happened
North Carolina sent out mail-in ballots on Friday, becoming the first state to do so for the November midterms. This occurred hours after Trump administration officials petitioned the Supreme Court to allow implementation of new federal rules governing mail ballots. The proposed rules would bar the Postal Service from delivering ballots in states that do not share voter data with the federal government and would require ballot envelopes to be screened against new standards before delivery. North Carolina is required by state statute to begin sending absentee ballots 60 days before the general election. A federal judge in Massachusetts, Indira Talwani, blocked key parts of the plan on August 27 after initially blocking it in June; Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has not yet granted the administration's request for an emergency stay, instead giving challengers until Tuesday to respond. A Postal Service official indicated the agency was still refining its screening system and expected to make it available to states on a voluntary basis "sometime next week."
Context
The dispute centers on whether the Trump administration can implement new ballot-screening protocols before the November election. The administration argues the lower court's freeze causes "serious irreparable harm" to government, states, and voters. Federal Judge Talwani previously ruled the plan encroaches on states' constitutional authority over elections, a position reflected in the tight timeline now facing implementation—with barely two months until election day and most states preparing to send ballots within days or weeks. The Supreme Court's conservative majority previously sided with Trump in August but deemed the challenge premature, leaving open the possibility of further legal action once the plan was finalized. The narrow window between the Tuesday response deadline and when ballots must reach voters nationwide underscores the operational urgency.
What's disputed
Whether the Trump administration's mail-ballot screening plan is constitutional and whether it can be implemented before the election. Federal Judge Talwani has ruled it encroaches on state election authority; the Supreme Court's conservative majority has indicated it may have merit but the challenge was premature.