‘Not a slam dunk’: Trump’s 2028 mail-vote push hinges on one big legal question

By Fox News · Fox News

President Donald Trump faces legal uncertainty over whether his administration can put new federal mail-ballot rules in place ahead of the 2028 presidential election, legal experts told Fox News Digital. The president issued an executive order in March directing the Postal Service to pursue new rules for federal mail ballots, including standardized ballot envelopes with an Official Election Mail designation and unique machine-readable barcodes. Per the order, the Postal Service would be empowered to turn away ballots that failed to meet its new standards, or those belonging to individuals who don’t appear on state-submitted lists of eligible mail voters. On Sept. 14, the Supreme Court declined to lift a preliminary injunction blocking the rules from being implemented ahead of November’s midterm elections. Now, whether or not his changes can be implemented before the 2028 election looms large over Washington. Experts who spoke to Fox News Digital argued that the ruling will hinge on how the Supreme Court parses competing claims to authority between the executive branch’s ability to regulate mail and the right of states to administer elections however they see fit. USPS WOULDN'T DELIVER BALLOTS IN STATES THAT REFUSE TO FORK OVER MAIL-IN VOTER INFO UNDER PROPOSED RULE "If the Court views this primarily as an attempt by the President to regulate federal elections, the Court is likely to invalidate it," Florida State University law professor Michael Morley told Fox News Digital. "The President has no constitutional authority over federal elections and Congress has not delegated him broad statutory authority over the field." If the Supreme Court views the case through another lens, however, Morley says that could change things. "In contrast, the Court may instead view the new rules primarily as administrative requirements for the post office to ensure efficient operations and protect the integrity of the [mail]," he said. "Viewed from this perspective, the rule would b…