While on All In Monday night , Election lawyer Mark Elias and his voting
rights organization, Democracy Docket, celebrated the 7-2 ruling as a
major victory for voters but asserted those (conservo majority) Supremes still don’t
deserve a ”gold star” for earlier this week blocking Trump's mail voting restrictions
His critique centered on the court's motivations rather than a
sudden shift toward protecting voting rights:
- The
"Purcell Principle" and Timing: Elias noted that the conservative majority, including
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, sided against Trump primarily because the
midterm elections are too close. Under the court's own "Purcell
principle," judges are highly reluctant to change election rules
right before voting begins to avoid mass disruption.
- Leaving
the Door Open for 2028: The court only blocked the
restrictions "for now" ahead of the midterms. In his
concurring opinion, Kavanaugh explicitly left the door open for the Trump
administration to implement the restrictive United States Postal Service
rules in future election cycles, suggesting the rule might fall within
federal legislative limits.
Most aggravating to Mr. Elias was the fact the Court's conservo majority waited weeks to render a decision when - back in August- they could have simply passed and allowed the lower court's ruling to stay. Instead they cited the plaintiffs (states) case was "premature" given the Postal Service "had not yet issued rules". In fact they DID, on the Friday - before the Supremes came out with their interference on the Monday. In Elias' opinion this was a deliberate, cynical effort to indirectly suck up to Trump and at the same time sow election confusion and distrust which the Blue states now must deal with.
Indeed, as an earlier NY Times piece reported, despite the ruling, Trump's repeated false attacks on voting by mail, together with the threats to restrict the practice via the USPS, have left many voters baffled. Hence, it is now incumbent on election officials at state and local levels to focus on communicating to voters that they can trust that in their respective states- they can securely vote by mail and without federal interference. (Although at a recent Senate Judiciary hearing, FBI head Kashyap Patel warned he "may send FBI agents to the polls this November".)
This is most likely a sick belch but may be enough to create more confusion among traditional mail voters. But every manjack ought to know that for years this two bit traitor has sought to sow doubt about the American electoral process - the same thing a Russian asset of Manchurian candidate would do. Including shouting 'Fraud!' ever time his side loses like in 2020. Where it actually drove him to incite an insurrection, which act ought to have disqualifed him as a presidential candidate in 2024 (Under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment). But the conservo Supremes let him through claiming he was not an "officer' under the amendment's definition. Which makes one wonder what combo of MJ candies and magic mushrooms they were ingesting.
This year, and certainly following the blowback to his idiotic policies - like tariffs - raising costs - he has aggressively pushed to try to interfere in the upcoming Midterms starting with his bonehead 'Save Act'. Also - when that farce went down - trying to use the Postal Service to interfere in elections by checking UPC codes on mail ballots. And if only one didn't match - say because a woman changed her single to married name - 9,999 from the same district could be nullified. This insanity was poised to sow total chaos until the Supreme Court finally blocked it in its September 14, 2026 decision.
Colorado's current Secretary of State Jena Griswold noted in a recent press conference:
"This obviously is not the first time Trump has pushed out more lies about vote by mail. Our message even during all this back and forth is that everything was proceeding as normal." Asked if it was safe to return ballots by mail, Griswold's response was immedaite:
"You can return your ballot however you want".
Which would include taking it to a drop box.
Meanwhile, in Arizona, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes felt relieved Monday night when he learned there would be no major change in the way voting by mail would occur. As he noted:
"We're a hotbed of election denialism but even election denialists vote by mail."
Which is truly the only sane way to vote, especially if one's state - like Colorado - has perfected it. So why let a stone loser and infant like Trump mess with it, like he tried back in 2020?
See also:
by Michael Waldman | September 18, 2026 - 4:29am | permalink— from the Brennan Center for Justice
Voters had a big win at the Supreme Court this week. What does it all mean?
On Monday, the court refused to allow the Postal Service to implement a new rule that would have curbed mail voting. But the one-paragraph ruling seemed to say more than “not yet.” The Trump administration, the justices ruled, was “unlikely to succeed on the merits.”
This was great news for the millions of citizens who rely on mail voting, the method now used by 1 in 3 voters. It was utterly bonkers that the White House tried to exert control over the election system. That’s illegal, a fact now confirmed over and over. The Brennan Center was proud to be part of the legal team representing voters before the Supreme Court.
President Donald Trump’s drive to undermine the election is failing. Time and again, his moves have been parried or blocked.
And:
by Sarah K. Burris | September 18, 2026 - 5:19am | permalink— from Alternet
New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan spoke at The Atlantic Festival Thursday, where the former detailed her predictions about President Donald Trump's presidency if Democrats take over one or both houses of Congress.
In a discussion about pardons and members of the administration breaking laws, court rulings, or orders, Haberman said that one thing that Steven Miller learned is that if the president declares an emergency, he can do whatever he wants. That combined with "an utterly compliant House GOP and slightly less so but fairly compliant Republican Senate" is how Trump has accomplished what he has.
Aside from the "emergency powers" efforts, another option is for Congress to hand over its power."And so, not to get too hyper local here, but there are many ways in which this government reminds me of like 1970s New York," Haberman said. "And the reason I say that is that that is Donald Trump's, you know, sort of, model of executive power."
by Amanda Marcotte | September 17, 2026 - 5:13am | permalink— from Salon
Natalie Harp’s enormous bag and unflattering photos of Trump's rear end fuel attacks on a reporter
If there’s ever been anything Donald Trump loves more than gold, it’s a camera. The former reality TV host has willingly debased himself in a myriad of ways — doing an ad for Pizza Hut, shaving Vince McMahon’s head during a wrestling match, painful “acting” appearances in “Home Alone 2″ and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” — all to get a sweet, sweet dose of video proof of his existence.
Right now Trump can’t stop begging for attention, even though it’s immensely damaging to his party’s midterm prospects. He forced the Republicans to throw him a two-day fake convention so he could give lengthy prime-time speeches. He holds frequent on-camera events in the Oval Office, forgoing the work of actual governance so he can be photographed sitting behind the Resolute Desk.
And:
by Sarah K. Burris | September 15, 2026 - 5:08am | permalink— from Alternet
The New York Times reported Monday that federal agents may have broken state laws when the Department of Homeland Security ordered them to use private information to access voter records in state databases.
President Donald Trump's effort to find noncitizens on state voter rolls may be relying on questionable data, rushed reviews and even investigative practices that could have violated local state law.
The “Unlawful Voter Initiative” is a Trump administration operation that has reportedly deployed hundreds of federal agents to search voter-registration records for evidence that noncitizens are voting in mass numbers. It was exposed in a New York Times report last month, in which the whistleblower alleged that hundreds of federal agents have been ordered to sift through voter rolls in a widespread hunt to find voter fraud.
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