US midterm elections 2026: Postal ballots and voter disenfranchisement — A key battle for Donald Trump

Nearly 210 million Americans are set to vote next month in the US midterm election. This is a four-year event, designed by America's founding fathers to keep a check on the president, restricting him from becoming autocratic and powerful. The voting is set to take place in the US in three weeks, on November 3, 2026, when voting and counting will be managed primarily by state and local authorities under a decentralised system.

Interestingly, the US uses a mix of paper ballots and electronic voting machines, depending entirely on the county and state where the vote is cast. There is no single method to cast a vote in the US; however, hand-marked paper ballots scanned by optical machines are the most common method nationwide.

Meanwhile, the sitting president's administration has approached the Supreme Court earlier this year to dramatically change how Americans vote by mail in the lead-up to the midterm elections. However, the demand was refused by the court, marking a resounding win for Democratic-led states and voting rights groups. They have argued that the plan of Trump's administration was unconstitutional and an existential threat to the democratic process.

This has surfaced as one of the most contested flashpoints, with President Donald Trump waging a sustained campaign to restrict it. Trump signed Executive Order 14399, titled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” on March 31, 2026, directing the Postal Service to require new ballot envelopes with intelligent mail barcodes, impose a 90-day notification window for states, and compel election officials to hand over lists of every resident receiving a mail ballot.

Key battle for Donald Trump

In response, the US Supreme Court ruled that the executive branch has no authority to regulate elections, warning that states cannot pivot this late in the election cycle, nearly guaranteeing significant disenfranchisement for eligible voters. However, the Supreme Court later lifted one of two injunctions blocking the order, though it remains legally blocked from taking full effect.

Opposition parties and critics argued claiming that Democratic voters traditionally use more mail-in ballots than Republicans. Trump's move was a strategic effort to reshape the electoral battlefield in the favour of his party. Several experts also viewed this order as coming up with compounding challenges for voters of colour that could pose significant obstacles for rural voters who solely rely on mail voting.

Nearly 48 million voters used mail-in ballots in 2024, and new federal eligibility lists, tighter rules, and earlier deadlines threaten to make voting harder for eligible Americans. Despite Trump’s claims of rampant fraud, evidence remains scarce. As litigation continues and states scramble to comply, the mail-ballot fight has become a defining test of federal versus state authority, and a pivotal battleground shaping turnout in the 2026 midterms.