How legal battles across the country could complicate the midterms
PBS News Hour – Politics — 2026-07-02 17:40:00 — www.pbs.org
President Trump’s Push for Federal Control Over Elections Repeatedly Rejected by Courts
As President Trump seeks to expand federal authority over election administration ahead of the midterms, his efforts have faced a series of legal setbacks across the country. Recent court rulings have consistently found that Trump’s executive actions overstep the constitutional boundaries that reserve election administration primarily for the states.
Executive Orders and Legal Defeats
President Trump signed an executive order requiring states to provide lists of eligible voters who intend to vote by mail. However, a judge in Washington blocked the U.S. Postal Service from implementing changes to mail ballot delivery based on this order, ruling it was not legal under a 2021 agreement with the NAACP. This is part of a broader pattern: “The White House and the president keep losing when these election executive orders are challenged,” the report notes.
Constitutional Limits on Presidential Power
Legal experts point out that the U.S. Constitution gives states the authority to determine the “time, place, and manner” of elections, with Congress able to set nationwide rules in certain cases. Nowhere does the Constitution grant the president authority over election administration. This fundamental limitation has led to Trump’s repeated losses in court when attempting to assert federal control.
Attempts to Access Voter Rolls
For months, the Department of Justice—at the president’s insistence—has pressed individual states to turn over their voter rolls, which include sensitive personal information. Many states have refused, and the courts have sided with them. The Department of Justice recently lost its 11th such case, with a judge in New Hampshire ruling that the federal government did not prove why it needed the information. Legal experts attribute these losses to the president’s lack of authority to demand such data.
Mail Ballot Deadlines and Supreme Court Rulings
The Supreme Court recently ruled that states must be allowed to receive and count ballots up to five days after Election Day, further reinforcing state control over election procedures. The decision notably did not grant any new authority to the president to set election policy.
Post-Election Litigation
Looking ahead, experts anticipate that if elections are close, there will be numerous legal challenges from both Trump’s supporters and Democrats. In 2020, Trump’s supporters brought 64 cases alleging fraud and irregularities; 63 were unsuccessful, and the only victory was on a minor issue. Courts have shown little tolerance for unsubstantiated claims of election misconduct.
Conclusion
President Trump’s ongoing attempts to assert greater federal control over election administration have been repeatedly checked by the courts, which have affirmed that such authority rests with the states and, in some cases, Congress. As the midterms approach, these legal battles underscore the constitutional limits of presidential power in the American electoral system.
Source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-legal-battles-across-the-country-could-complicate-the-midterms