Update: Supreme Court’s Decision Rejecting The Trump Vote-by-Mail Executive Order
September 18, 2026
Mel Wilson, LCSW, Senior Policy Advisor, NASW
On September 14th, the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) - in a 6-1-2 decision - rejected President Trump’s executive order on voting by mail. This much anticipated decision produced a sigh of relief for voting rights and voting protection activists. To say that the stakes were high understates the consequences - in terms of the projected millions of disenfranchised Americans - had the SCOTUS ruling gone the other way.
While the SCOTUS vote-by-mail decision was very significant and critical for undermining voting interference, it is essential to mention that this decision alone does not end the threat. It should be remembered that the impetus for the Trump vote-by-mail executive order can be seen as an attempt to federalize - for voter interference purposes - American’s voting processes and policies.
With that in mind, the Court's action on vote-by-mail is important, but it did not establish a constitutional provision that federal agencies - such as the U.S. Postal Service - are prohibited from taking actions affecting state-administered elections. Legal experts suggest that the decision was narrower than that. The Court simply agreed with the lower Courts by declining to let the USPS rule take effect for the 2026 midterm elections. SCOTUS also agreed with the lower Courts that the Trump administration was unlikely win the argument that its executive order is constitutional - but SCOTUS did not decide constitutionality in its ruling.
As a result, voting rights groups, including NASW, recognize that the Trump administration’s election interference efforts to weaponize USPS and other federal agencies does not end with the vote-by-mail ruling. These groups are currently collaborating to respond, via contingency plans, to anticipated Trump administration attempts to federalize voting - now with the administration’s focus on the 2028 presidential election.
NASW and the broader social work community, as stakeholders in this struggle, feel that the SCOTUS decision is not only a victory for mail-in voting, but an important step towards preserving our democracy. To be clear, NASW’s activism in protecting the right to vote is primarily about protecting the voices of the marginalized and vulnerable Americans who social workers serve. We join our voting rights partners in our commitment to eliminating all obstacles - including voting interference and suppression - to free and fair elections.