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President Donald Trump seeks to nationalize mail voting through a contested executive order and new federal oversight.

The administration announced a new executive order aimed at nationalizing U.S. elections by granting the U.S. Postal Service and the Department of Homeland Security unprecedented roles in screening mail ballots. Under the new rules, states must provide a list of every resident eligible to receive a mail ballot, which the U.S. Postal Service may use to determine who receives a ballot. This move is intended to provide federal oversight, but it has sparked a legal battle as states and voting rights groups argue that the Constitution grants the authority to manage elections to state legislatures. Recent court rulings have created a state of uncertainty. While the Supreme Court initially allowed the executive order to proceed, a district judge subsequently issued a 14-day restraining order. Several states, including North Carolina and Washington state, have already printed their mail ballots and warned that complying with the new federal requirements would be costly and potentially disruptive. Additionally, the administration is pursuing other efforts to influence the 2026 midterms, including a Department of Homeland Security surge to identify alleged voter fraud in several states. A whistleblower report also highlighted a new system for verifying mail ballots that could lead to mass disenfranchisement if a single error in a large batch of ballots is not resolved.

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