Shapiro: Mail voting unchanged for 2026 after SCOTUS ruling
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling favoring President Trump's push to restrict mail-in voting won't impact the upcoming midterm elections, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Tuesday.
Why it matters: On Monday, SCOTUS cleared one roadblock for Trump's push to restrict mail-in ballots via the U.S. Postal Service, sowing uncertainty about how states will carry out their elections.
How it works: The policy would require USPS to review outgoing mail-ballot envelopes for compliance with federal requirements before accepting them.
- Election officials would also have to use a new Federal Ballot Mail Portal to submit personal information about voters receiving mail ballots.
- A separate nationwide injunction keeps the USPS rule blocked for now.
What they're saying: Shapiro wrote in a Tuesday X post that the Trump administration is trying to sow chaos in the election process and noted that the state will carry on this year's election as usual.
- "Nothing has changed here in Pennsylvania for November's election. Despite the President's repeated attempts to undermine our Constitution, eligible voters in Pennsylvania can safely and securely vote by mail — and I'll keep fighting in court to protect our state election laws."
The other side: White House spokesperson Lauren Bis told Axios in an emailed statement that the "real 'chaos' in our elections is sowed by extreme Democrats who refuse to enact basic commonsense measures that ensure Americans, and Americans only, decide our elections."
Context: The Supreme Court's Monday decision overturned a lower-court ruling. The high court blocked a suit from Pennsylvania, 22 other states and D.C. over the president's executive order, which created a citizenship-list system and changed mail-ballot rules.
By the numbers: Nearly 2 million mail-in ballots were cast in Pennsylvania in the 2024 general election, more than a quarter of all ballots.
Threat level: The rule would disproportionately harm Americans who rely on mail ballots, including the elderly, voters with disabilities, rural residents, college students, and people working multiple shifts, Jonathan Diaz, director of voting advocacy and partnerships at the Campaign Legal Center, tells Axios.
- Voters dealing with sudden illness, travel or hospitalization could also face delays.
The bottom line: Monday's ruling is "certainly not the end of this story," says Diaz.
- "This is not the Supreme Court saying yes, 'this order is legal and constitutional, and you definitely can do this by November.' This was really just a technical ruling about the timing of the district court's order."
- He added that the states are still free to sue the administration once the rule is published in the Federal Register, which is scheduled for Wednesday.
Zoom in: Philadelphia City Commissioner Omar Sabir, a Democrat who leads the three-person board overseeing the city's elections, tells Axios he's still analyzing what the high court's ruling means for Philadelphia's mail-in voting process.
- Yes, but: He couldn't say whether Philly's mail-in ballot process will remain the same for future elections.
- He added that minimizing confusion for voters around mail-in ballots is one of his office's biggest challenges.
What's next: The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot for the upcoming election is Oct. 27.