The 9/14 SCOTUS Decision on Mail-In Voting: What to Know
After weeks of uncertainty, the Supreme Court has affirmed what we already knew – that Americans have the right to vote in whatever form works best for them, including by mail, without facing interference, delays, and chaos.
The Constitution is clear – voting and election procedures are set by the states. Trump’s pathetic, desperate executive order attempting to rig the election by using the United States Postal Service to sabotage vote-by-mail has failed once again — and this SCOTUS ruling holds through the 2026 midterms.
While it’s clear that some MAGA justices on the Court are willing to go to drastic lengths to give their favorite President a hand, this was a decisive ruling that recognized the damage and widespread disenfranchisement that the Trump/USPS requirements would have caused. Below, we’ve gathered some basic guidance on what happened and what it means.
If you plan to vote by mail, we encourage you to do so as early as possible, and consider using a ballot drop box and ballot tracking if available in your state. If your ballot doesn’t arrive in a timely manner, talk to your local election office or contact 866-OUR-VOTE with any issues.
The Basics:
- In March 2026, Trump issued an executive order (EO) attempting to set new rules for mail-in voting. These rules would have let Trump’s Postmaster General work with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to deny delivery of ballots if they didn’t match a list of “approved voters.” Many states sued, and the status remained unclear even as states began to mail out ballots to voters as set by their states’ election laws..
- While the case was pending, a whistleblower from the US Postal Service came forward with devastating information on the impact on voters if the new rules were allowed to proceed. Some estimates showed that up to 20-30% of voters who cast their ballot by mail would risk losing their vote due to technical errors and delays. And another whistleblower revealed that the USPS continued to collaborate with DHS and build out the voter tracking system, despite a court order forbidding any additional work on the implementation until a decision in the case.
- This is a decision based in part on the timing of the lawsuit, and the impact it would have on this year’s elections.. At least one justice kept the door open for 2028, but it is fully blocked for this year.
What this means:
- Nothing changed for voters with this decision. Voters who are eligible to vote by mail in their state can still do so.
- This decision allows states to send out ballots for the midterms as scheduled. None of the systems ordered as part of Trump’s executive order will be implemented, including the national list of “approved” voters and the ballot envelope bar codes.
- The chaos was always the point. The Trump administration is trying everything they can to make it harder to vote, and to sow doubt in the results. They’re desperate to cling to power because they don’t want to be held accountable for their corruption and destructive policies.
- We won this case, but cannot rely on this MAGA SCOTUS to save us. While this particular Trump sabotage attempt was so egregious that the Republicans in robes on the court couldn’t get a majority to rule for their guy, that doesn’t mean we can let our guards down. We know Trump and his cronies will try other ways to undermine our elections – and we must continue organizing to ensure the people prevail.
- Voting by mail remains a safe, reliable way to cast your ballot – but return it as early as possible. Due to procedural changes at the Postal Service it’s important to mail your ballot early, but the important thing is to make sure you vote – and if voting by mail works best for you, go for it!
How to respond:
- Our goal remains the same: preparation, not panic, is the way. We’ll see many equally-chaotic moments over the next few months, and can’t over-index on any of them. We have a plan designed for moments like these – let’s get in formation and follow it.
- Follow the steps we’ve identified as most helpful:
- Make sure you’re signed up for rapid response updates from Hands Off Our Vote: https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/966594/
- Prepare your networks and follow the guidance in the ‘What To Do Now’ section in the Hands Off Our Vote toolkit
- Make a plan to vote early, and encourage others to do the same
- Be ready for sustained mass mobilization this fall in order to enforce the results
Join the Hands Off Our Vote Movement
We know that Trump and his Big Lie cronies are plotting to do everything they can to undermine our elections in 2026. Whether it’s trying to end mail-in voting, targeting registration programs, blocking vote-counting, even trying to ban states from encouraging people to vote – it’s going to be no-holds-barred from them this year as they try desperately to block the free and fair elections.
But we’re going to cut through the noise, and we’re going to be ready for whatever dirty tricks they try. And we’re going to do it with community power and preparation, not panic.
Hands Off Our Vote is Indivisible’s national program to ensure all eligible voters get to cast their ballot, and that those ballots get counted. We’ll help you be ready to respond to any attacks, and we’ll shine a light on the bad actors threatening our basic constitutional rights.
By signing up you’ll get notified of key voting deadlines in your state, get updates on any threats to your voting rights and learn how to counter them, and be ready to mobilize in defense of your vote. You’ll also play an important role in rapid response moments whenever and wherever they try to pull those dirty tricks. We have tremendous power to protect our elections in 2026. Sign up here to get connected.
Traditionally election protection programs have focused on key swing states where the risk is highest. But this year, Trump is going for wholesale disenfranchisement across the country, so we’re stepping up and launching our biggest program in Indivisible’s history. And even if the elections are secure where you live, you can help protect at-risk voters in targeted areas during rapid-response moments and be a trusted messenger against the flood of disinformation.
What We Can Do: Our Plan to Push Back
Hands Off Our Vote is a national program, but its power comes from you, your community, and the work we can do together. We’ll focus on four main paths to help protect elections in every state:
- Help pre-bunk voting misinformation and be a trusted local messenger. We’re the most reliable messengers in our own networks and communities. Hands Off Our Vote will share information and resources like social graphics, designed to get ahead of lies about the election and spread accurate info instead. We can use them to inoculate against misleading information, and people are more likely to believe it because it’s coming from someone they know and trust.
- Track local/state attacks on voting rights and respond. In a year this big, we’ll all need to be eyes and ears to shine a light on attempts to undermine our vote. If local election administrators or elected officials try to make changes that make it harder to vote or have a free and fair election, we can be ready to respond fast. Maybe it’s writing letters to the local paper, maybe it’s a protest, maybe it’s reaching out to press, maybe it’s something that merits a broader response – the goal is to make sure that desperate republicans can’t try to steal the vote because they think that no one will notice or have the power to push back.
- Participate in national calls to action and be ready for rapid response moments. Hands Off Our Vote will share out calls to action whenever they’re needed across the country, so we can stand together when they try something. National community power, all working to protect the vote! Even if elections are smooth in your area, you can help when other areas are targeted by joining emergency phone banks or uplifting rapid response actions.
- Get trained and ready for election support and mass mobilization this fall. There will be two national trainings in August, and more this fall. If Trump and his allies seek to deny the election, like seizing ballot boxes or refusing to seat the election winners, Hands Off Our Vote and partners across the country will be ready to mobilize for large-scale protests.
HANDS OFF OUR VOTE! A TOOLKIT FOR ELECTION PROTECTION
We’ve created a comprehensive toolkit to help you get started, be an effective messenger, start planning for rapid response moments, ask the right questions of your election officials, and lots more. Start learning what you can do to make sure our elections are protected in 2026.
Download the printable PDF versionHANDS OFF OUR VOTE! TOOLKIT
Resources
Hands Off Our Vote Flyer
Download the PDF to print and hang in your window.
Download FlyerSoSha Posts
Use the > and < arrows to select the message you want to share
Past Calls
Hands Off Our Vote! Indivisible’s National Election Protection Kickoff Call – 07/30/2026
In this kickoff call, we pull back the curtain on our strategy and theory of change, and walk through how you can step up to protect the vote no matter where you live.
Hands Off Our Vote! Indivisible Election Protection 101 Training – 8/19/26
Calling all Indivisibles who are ready to demand Hands Off Our Vote! This is the first of two trainings on 2026 election protection: the actions you and those around you can take to ensure every eligible voter can vote, every vote is counted, and the results are honored and the winners seated. This training includes a step-by-step of basic election protection steps that you can scale to how much time and energy you have, as well as a messaging special with Anat Shenker-Osorio and assorted FAQ.
Hands Off Our Vote! Indivisible Election Protection 101 Training – 8/26/26
Calling all Indivisibles who are ready to protect the election! Hands Off Our Vote is Indivisible’s nationwide program to ensure every voter can cast their ballot, every ballot is counted, and the results are honored and the winners seated. This second part of our August training series covers preparing for rapid response and sustained mobilization, as well as a section on ICE at the polls and a special visit from guest speaker Cliff Albright from Black Voters Matter.