The Facts

The Supreme Court declined to lift the injunction against President Donald Trump’s new mail-ballot restrictions for November’s election, preserving existing state procedures, reports Lindsey Whitehurst of the Associated Press in the San Francisco Chronicle. The rules would have required redesigned envelopes and voter information uploaded to a federal portal.

The Context

This is not a final ruling on the restrictions’ legality. The Court denied emergency relief, leaving a lower-court injunction in place. Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed officials lacked time to implement the rules for 2026, but left open whether similar requirements could be lawful later.

California counties must begin mailing ballots no later than October 5 for the November 3 election. That schedule leaves little room for a federal overhaul.

The GrowSF Take

Good. Making voting harder through last-minute paperwork is not election integrity. California Attorney General Rob Bonta deserves credit for helping stop it: he co-led the coalition of 24 attorneys general and Pennsylvania’s governor that secured the injunction and defended it through the administration’s appeals. Thank you to Bonta and his fellow challengers for protecting voters’ access to mail ballots this November.

Check your voter registration now so your ballot reaches the right address, and use our November voter guide to prepare.