Trump administration files urgent appeal with Supreme Court over USPS mail-in ballot rules
Envelope for mailing Official Vote by Mail ballot. (Getty Images stock photo)
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration on Thursday filed an urgent appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking permission to immediately implement new U.S. Postal Service rules for mail ballots that critics say impede on states’ authority to run elections.
A temporary restraining order against the USPS rules, which were prompted by President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at tightening access to mail ballots, is set to expire on Sept. 10 but could be extended indefinitely. A federal district court judge is set to rule imminently.
The new rules, published by USPS last month, require states to report basic voter information, such as a voter’s name and home address, attached to a unique barcode on every mail-in ballot distributed. Postal workers would then only deliver ballots addressed to voters who appear on the state-provided list.
Following the publication of the regulations last month, dozens of Democratic state attorneys general sued the Trump administration after an earlier lawsuit was blocked by the Supreme Court, which said the challenge was premature since the regulations hadn’t been finalized.
In its latest appeal to the justices,the Trump administration insisted the rules impose only “modest” ballot design and review requirements on states and that a requirement to submit name, address, and barcode information of intended recipients is not onerous or intrusive.
“The rule thus plainly does not seize control of states’ administration of elections — it simply imposes reasonable preparation requirements for certain election-related mail,” Solicitor General John Sauer wrote in the court filing.
“The rule’s regulation of the U.S. mail — not federal elections — is plainly constitutional,” he argued.
Sauer told the justices that the longer they wait to grant the administration’s request the more likely it is that some states may not be able to comply with the new rules before having their mail ballots printed for the fall election and, in turn, might deprive some voters of being able to receive a ballot delivered by USPS.
The states challenging the USPS rule have until Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 10 a.m. to formally respond before the court makes a decision.
The states and voter advocacy groups have argued that the new USPS regulations are an attempt by the Trump administration to federalize elections, which are historically and constitutionally managed by each state, and make it harder to vote by mail for everyday citizens.
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Iraq Ali al-Zaidi, in the Oval Office of the White House on July 14, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump, in a primetime address on Thursday, announced he has declassified a slew of documents he claims reveal vulnerabilities in America’s elections systems, election fraud and interference in elections by China, and ordered the Department of Justice to prosecute those believed to be involved.
“America is back and doing really well, but we still have a major challenge that must be urgently addressed because no country can be great without fair and honest elections, you have to trust your country,” Trump said. “Because if there can be no trust, there can be no greatness, and that’s very simple: no trust, no greatness.”
But throughout the more than 20-minute speech, the president did not provide specific evidence that the election outcome, or any votes, were altered in the 2020 election, despite his repeated claims that the election was “stolen” or “rigged.”
Trump has long pushed debunked conspiracy theories to claim that his 2020 election loss was fraudulent.
The president’s speech led to his main argument: he wants Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, his sweeping elections reform bill that Senate Majority Leader John Thune has repeatedly said does not have enough Republican votes to pass.
In his remarks, the president said that he would immediately declassify the release of “critical intelligence, revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure.”
According to the president, the documents focus on what he said were a number of areas of concern, including claims that China “compromised” election data during the 2020 election, and attempts to downplay the extent of China’s efforts.
Trump argued that the intelligence community suppressed information about China accessing 220 million voter files and trying to turn American opinion against him in the run-up to the 2020 election.
The president also accused the “deep-state” of keeping information about election meddling from him.
Trump claimed that U.S. intelligence agencies learned that tens of millions of voters’ data in 18 states had been “bought, stolen, or hacked” by China, and that the intelligence community deliberately kept this information from him while he was president.
Trump’s remarks asserting that the Chinese undertook a far more ambitious role in attempting to dictate the outcome of the 2020 election goes beyond what U.S. intelligence community has previously assessed.
In March 2021, two months into the Biden administration, a declassified “Intelligence Community Assessment” (ICA) that was produced at the end of Trump’s first term publicly acknowledged the belief among some intelligence officials that “China took at least some steps to undermine former President Trump’s reelection chances.” But the ICA said any such actions were “primarily through social media and official public statements and media,” not through interference with “election processes.”
Further, the ICA said that while China was “probably” trying “to gather information on U.S. voters and public opinion; political parties, candidates and their staffs; and senior government officials,” the more reliable intelligence indicated that such efforts were not actually intended to undermine Trump but instead to “predict electoral outcomes and to inform its efforts to influence US policy toward China under either election outcome.”
The heavily redacted documents released by the White House on Thursday do not appear to back up Trump’s assertions, instead containing scattershot intelligence that descries efforts to obtain — but not alter — voter records and to conduct social media activity to sow social discord.
One heavily-redacted document titled “200M Voter Records Compromised. repeatedly references personally identifiable information being compromised. This information includes names, phone numbers and addresses — which can also be found from many other sources.
In another series of near-completely redacted memos, words such as “state voter registration data” and “personal identifiable information” appear between large blocks of black redaction markings. It is impossible to surmise the meaning of these records without context, but they appear to point to some Chinese efforts to gather American voter data, much of which is publicly available.
Notably, these memos document Chinese activities ahead of both the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Trump alleged that former Justice Department officials slow-walked an investigation in Michigan that involved the submission of voter registration applications that had forged signatures and other indications of fraudulent applications. Trump called on FBI Director Kash Patel to look into whether any charges can still be brought.
Local media at the time said that a state-level investigation was halted so the FBI could continue with a related investigation. It’s unclear why no federal charges were ever brought or if federal charges were warranted.
At the time, state officials said that the fact that the fraudulent applications were detected shows that the system worked.
The president also said the documents released Thursday include a Department of Homeland Security report he called “stunning,” alleging approximately 278,000 non-citizens were included on voter rolls.
In the documents released by the White House, the DHS report that alleged 250,000 noncitizen voters on the rolls came from a review of “public voter files” that appear to have come from four states: California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Nevada. DHS did not provide any methodology about how it reached that number, nor does it specify what “public voter files” it reviewed.
DHS acknowledged it did not have access to those states’ voter rolls, and alleges that in the 10 states that provided the federal government access to their rolls, the agency found 28,000 noncitizen voters.
Findings from the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation have found only around 100 verified instances of non-citizen voting going back two decades.
-ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman and Mike Levine contributed to this report.
The arena for the upcoming UFC match on the South Lawn is seen as workers setup the Rose Garden for an evening event at the White House on June 3, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department on Tuesday urged a federal judge to reject a lawsuit seeking to stop the White House’s Ultimate Fighting Championship event scheduled for this weekend, attacking its plaintiffs as “two people who believe they have superior taste and want to spoil the event for everyone else.”
In a filing Tuesday evening, the department argued the lawsuit brought by two Virginia residents lacks any reasonable standing while describing the timing of the filing as “inexcusable” given the event was first announced nearly a year ago.
“It would be easy enough to simply avert their gazes for the weekend. Instead, they seek to enlist the power of a federal court to impose their idiosyncratic preferences on the rest of the country and ruin an event designed to celebrate the United States of America,” the department said. “No one is holding Plaintiffs in a jiu jitsu lock, forcing them to watch UFC Freedom 250 against their will. The public interest does not favor allowing them to exercise a heckler’s veto, particularly at this late date.”
In a lawsuit filed this weekend, the Public Integrity Project — representing a political activist and Vietnam veteran — claimed the event was improperly permitted, skipped an environmental review, and is an extraordinary use of public land to benefit President Donald Trump and his allies.
Calling the event “deeply corrupt,” the lawsuit alleged that the Trump administration improperly used a temporary rule for “America 250” to bypass the permitting requirements normally required to host events on National Park Service land. They argue that because the event is being organized by a private entity, not the federal government, and is not explicitly “for the celebration of the 250th anniversary of American Independence,” the fight does not qualify for that temporary rule.
In its filing, the Trump administration described the UFC fight as “one of the most highly anticipated events” in a series of others intended to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States, at one point likening it to the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn and the Congressional Picnic.
At the same time, the filing highlights the extraordinary collaboration between the government and the UFC in preparing for the event, citing “well over $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor” that “have been expended” in order to carry it out.
“More than 4,000 spectators are expected to attend on the South Lawn, including more than 1,000 members of our armed services, and more than 120,000 visitors are expected to watch from the nearby Ellipse after winning free tickets in a lottery,” the filing said. “Fourteen world-class athletes, who have been training for months, have traveled from all over the world to compete (including for two world championships).”
The filing continued: “All these hopes could be dashed at the very last moment, however, by the whim of two people who believe they have superior taste and want to spoil the event for everyone else.”
The government has informed the judge overseeing the case, Amit Mehta, that counsel is available on Thursday in the event he wishes to schedule oral arguments.
Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico speaks during a “Talarico for Texas: Frontera Tour” campaign rally at the La Posada facility, July 14, 2026, in Laredo, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Democrats raised more money than their Republican opponents in key Senate races across the country in the second quarter, according to campaign finance filings made this week to the Federal Election Commission.
In Georgia, Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff raised almost ten times what Republican Rep. Mike Collins did. In Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown outraised Republican Sen. Jon Husted by roughly $10 million. In Texas, Democrat James Talarico outraised Republican Ken Paxton by over $26 million.
Talarico’s haul marks a new record for second quarter fundraising, far surpassing other Democrats who previously pursued Senate seats in Texas.
At this point in Beto O’Rourke’s 2018 campaign, O’Rourke had raised a grand total of just under $24 million since the start of the election cycle. MJ Hegar had raised $6.6 million in 2020, and Colin Allred had raised over $38 million in 2024. All three of those Democratic candidates ultimately lost their general election fights.
Talarico has raised nearly $69 million this cycle, and the candidate still has over $21 million to spend. Lone Star Rising, a super PAC that supports Talarico, raised $12.7 million in the second quarter, most of it from LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.
Talarico’s opponent, Paxton, who is currently serving as the state’s attorney general, raised $2.2 million in the second quarter and has around $1.8 million in the bank, according to filings.
Lone Star Liberty, a super PAC that supports Paxton, raised about $4.3 million. They have about $35,000 cash on hand.
Republican PACs remain well-stocked, and Elon Musk contributions grow
Still, there are reasons for Republicans to be optimistic as the general election approaches.
In some cases, Republicans still have more money saved. Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola outraised her opponent, Republican Dan Sullivan, by nearly $5 million. But Sullivan spent little (under $1 million) in the second quarter, and still has more than $8 million on hand, according to FEC filings. That puts him $1 million ahead of Peltola.
Republican super PACs and party committees are also well-resourced. The Senate Leadership Fund, a flagship Republican super PAC affiliated with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, outraised its Democratic equivalent, the Senate Majority PAC, by nearly $20 million.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) reported having a cash on hand lead of over $10 million on the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) when those groups filed their most recent monthly reports. The Republican National Committee (RNC) has over $125 million in the bank, while the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is in debt.
MAGA Inc., a Donald Trump-affiliated super PAC, had over $382 million on hand when its most recent monthly report was filed.
Among MAGA Inc.’s donors is Elon Musk, who has emerged as one of the Republican party’s top supporters this midterm cycle despite past spats with Trump. He has invested at least $90 million dollars, including a recent $5 million donation, to Vivek Ramaswamy’s super PAC, V-PAC. Ramaswamy is running for Ohio governor against Amy Acton. Musk also endorsed Ramaswamy, which comes after notable tension between the two when co-leading the Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk’s own super PAC, America PAC, has kept a relatively low profile since last year, when Brad Schimel, Musk’s preferred candidate in a Wisconsin Supreme Court race, lost in a 10-point blowout. America PAC and other Musk-affiliated groups spent millions supporting Schimel.
Democrats face internal struggles in Michigan and Maine
Democrats also face challenges internally. In Michigan, two Democratic Senate candidates are still locked in a hard-fought primary, vying for the opportunity to challenge Republican Mike Rogers. Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, raised $4.6 million, while Rogers raised under $3 million. Rep. Haley Stevens raised about $2.1 million, according to FEC filings. Rogers has more cash on hand, $5.7 million, than either of his potential Democratic opponents.
In Maine, Democrat Graham Platner’s campaign raised over $9 million, while Republican Sen. Susan Collins’ campaign raised around $5.7 million. Collins has far more cash on hand however, $11 million compared to the Platner campaign’s $1.8 million.
Given that Platner dropped out of the race earlier this month in the wake of a sexual assault allegation, which he’s denied, it is still unknown if and how Democrats will access the Platner campaign’s war chest to benefit whoever his replacement turns out to be. Candidate-to-candidate transfers are limited to $2,000.
