US Postal Service says mail-in ballot restrictions now in effect

What the report says

The US Postal Service said new restrictions on handling mail-in ballots are now in effect, following a Supreme Court decision that allowed the Trump administration’s changes to move forward. The announcement, reported by Al Jazeera on Thursday, comes as states prepare to mail millions of ballots ahead of the US midterm elections scheduled for November 3.

Under the revised procedures, the Postal Service will use state-provided information to build lists of eligible voters and will deliver ballots only to people on those lists. The agency said prior court orders no longer block implementation of the rule for the November election or earlier federal contests.

The policy is part of President Donald Trump’s broader effort to tighten mail voting, which he has long criticized. He signed an executive order in March directing federal agencies to create eligible-voter lists and requiring the Postal Service to mail ballots only to those included. The Postal Service had delayed putting the rules into effect while legal challenges were underway.

Al Jazeera also reported that lawsuits continue. A new case filed Wednesday by 24 states in Massachusetts argues the measures are unconstitutional and would place burdens on election administration. More broadly, voting by mail remains widely used in the United States, and election experts generally consider it secure, even as it has been a frequent target of Trump’s claims.