Insert Ballot Here
This whole exercise has been bullshit.— Cisco Aguilar, secretary of state of Nevada
On July 17, 2026, the DHS secretary sent a letter to Nevada election officials claiming there "may be as many as" 15,903 noncitizens registered to vote in the state. This was a toned-down follow-up on President Trump's announcement of having identified 278,000 noncitizens registered to vote among four states including Nevada.
About a month later, DHS officials admitted that they only confirmed 185 registered voters in Nevada were actually non-citizens, according to the Guardian.
When Nevada officials investigated the claims, they found that every single person identified by the DHS was a citizen. Nevada's secretary of state, Cisco Aguilar, described the actions of DHS as "bullshit."
Trump’s attempts to restrict mail voting have tested presidential authority over elections generally administered by the states. The Constitution’s allocation of election powers gives states primary responsibility and Congress authority to alter congressional election rules. It does not give the president independent power to rewrite them.
In March 2025, Trump ordered federal action against states counting mail ballots received after Election Day and threatened election funding over receipt deadlines. The order was permanently blocked by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly later that year, finding that Trump had exceeded his authority.
Trump issued a second order in March 2026, directing federal agencies to compile state citizenship lists and the Postal Service to propose participation lists for mail ballots. The proposed system would prevent USPS from transmitting ballots from voters not enrolled on the relevant list.
In May, Judge Carl Nichols declined to block the order in a lawsuit, because agencies such as USPS had not yet taken steps in response to the order. He did not decide whether the order was lawful.
A second judge, Indira Talwani, partially barred implementation of the order, but the Supreme Court reversed that decision, 6–3. Once again, the reasoning hinged on the challenge being premature. It expressly left open whether implementing measures would be lawful.
Two days after the Supreme Court decision, USPS published its final rule. It required approved envelope designs and uploads of voter information to the agency. USPS would have the power to reject ballots which don't satisfy its standards.
Judge Talwani blocked enforcement of the rule. When the administration sought emergency authorization from the Supreme Court, it was denied relief, although Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented. The decision left the postal restrictions blocked for the midterms while litigation continued.