Key Facts

• The Postal Service created new rules for mail-in ballot envelopes, including unique barcodes and online tracking of voters receiving mail ballots.
• The Supreme Court agreed with a lower court and blocked these rules from being used in the upcoming elections.
• The rules were meant to reduce potential fraud in mail voting, but no wide evidence of fraud has been shown.
• President Donald Trump’s administration supported the rules, calling mail voting fraud a serious problem.
• Some states and voting rights groups said these rules interfere with state control over elections and are impossible to follow before the midterms.
• Two conservative justices disagreed with blocking the rules, while a third conservative justice thought the rules might be valid but were unfairly timed.
• Election officials worried that enforcing the new rules could cause confusion and stop many people from voting by mail.
• The Postal Service said ballots not meeting the new rules would be returned, possibly delaying votes.