Mail-in Voting can proceed in New Jersey
Justices' decision halts Trump executive order
By: Katie Sobko
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... Though Election Day isn't until November, [2026] Mail-in ballots will be sent out in New Jersey later this week. [09/18/2026]
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That is just one of the three ways to vote in the Garden State, but it has gotten a lot of attention nationally as the Trump administration has taken steps to limit mail-in voting.
..... On the evening of Monday, September 14, [2026] President Donald Trump's executive order from earlier this year. [2026]
..... The order would require the U.S. Postal Service to preapprove ballot envelope designs. States would also have to provide a list of all voters receiving mail-in ballots to an Online portal.
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Although the court's ruling was not signed and there was no vote count, a concurrence was written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Samuel Alito Jr. and Clarence Thomas dissented.
..... The ruling came after two federal judges issued stays in the implementation of the order. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington, DC, issued a preliminary injunction on Sunday [09/13/2026] night that was similar to one issued in Boston in August. [2026]
..... "Plaintiffs have demonstrated that, absent an injunction, there is an increased risk hat a significant number of otherwise appropriate absentee or mail-in ballots will ultimately not be counted in the upcoming elections," [11/2026] Nichols wrote. "the public has a strong interest tin ensuring that doesn't happen."
.... There has been significant concern that the order was being used as a method to disenfranchise voters, and the postal workers' union also pushed back.
..... The union had field paperwork to the Supreme Court about the rushed nature of potentially training postal workers on a new requirement as there was still no guidance on how that would work.
..... Also, earlier this year, [2026] Jonathan Smith, president of the American Postal workers Union, said it wants to encourage people to vote by mail, because it is a safe option, but that postal workers should not be viewed as election workers.
..... "It is our position that it is not th4e job of the postal workers to verify voter eligibility, he said.
..... "It is our job to move mail from one destination to the next."
..... He added, "We do not want to be politicized."
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New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said that "once again, the court has halted Trump's attack on vote-by-mail and this time, it's by a judge Trump appointed."
..... "That's because the Constitution is clear: states run elections, not the federal government," she said.
..... "New Jersey has administered safe, secure, and accessible voting for generations and i will continue doing everything I can to protect New Jerseyans' right to vote - by mail and in person.
How to vote by mail
..... Any New Jersey voter can apply to vote by mail by completing an application and returning it to their county clerk. Voters using vote-by-mail ballots can return they through the postal service, but they must be postmarked on or before 8 PM. on Election Day. they can also be put in a secure ballot drop box or returned to the county broad of election office.
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Voters who don't use mail-in ballots can vote early in person from October 24 though November 1, [2026] or Election Day November 3. [2026]