Trump's Mail Voting Crackdown Tests Election Systems.

Former federal officials warned this week that the post-election counting period is the most vulnerable point in the 2026 midterms, with the Trump administration having lost most pre-election court fights over voting rules.

• Nearly one-third of all ballots in 2022 and 2024 were cast by mail.
• The Supreme Court this month blocked the Trump executive order restricting mail ballot delivery.
• The administration initially floated requiring all ballots be sent by certified mail, then abandoned the idea.
• DHS is pursuing an 'unlawful voter initiative' an anonymous whistleblower told Congress uses 'highly questionable data.'

Why it matters: Some states take weeks to complete their count, and House and Senate control may hinge on those delayed results.

• CISA's election-security staffing and funding have been sharply reduced, cutting threat briefings that once occurred dozens of times a year.
• Caitlin Durkovich, a former deputy homeland security adviser, said the administration could invoke foreign-interference claims to seize ballots or equipment 'whether they're legally justified to do so or not.'

How 23 sources split on this story

Where they split: Whether the administration's election actions are legitimate security measures or attempts to manufacture doubt about results it dislikes.

What’s next: Four Trump board nominees, all Republicans, await Senate confirmation that could give the White House a majority on the USPS board.

• State election officials are running public-education efforts now to blunt potential post-election disputes.
• Would courts move fast enough to block any post-election federal action targeting ballots or counting equipment?
• Will Senate confirmation of Trump's USPS board nominees change how the Postal Service handles future election directives?