This program is eligible for 1 hour of CLE credit in 60-minute states. In 50-minute states, this program is eligible for 1.2 hours of CLE credit. Credit hours are estimated and are subject to each state’s approval and credit rounding rules.
Overview
When Executive Power Meets the Ballot Box.
In March, President Trump issued an Executive Order affecting the use of absentee or “mail-in” ballots and directing DHS, USPS, and the states to regulate the distribution, validity, and receipt of such ballots. Almost immediately, twenty-three states and the District of Columbia challenged the Executive Order as unconstitutional. Several other lawsuits followed.
The Courts Push Back.
In June, Judge Indira Talwani agreed with the plaintiffs, finding the Executive Order “legally void” for exceeding the president’s constitutional power and encroaching on the states’ authority over elections. The First Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, and upheld Judge Talwani’s injunction, noting that the Executive Order would “sow confusion and threaten disenfranchisement of many eligible voters[.]”
However, in an unsigned August decision, a majority of the Supreme Court disagreed. The Supreme Court’s ruling allows the Trump Administration, including the U.S. Postal Service, to move forward with preparations to change absentee ballot procedures in time for use in the November 2026 midterm elections. A whistleblower suit alleges that the USPS will never be ready or reliable if these changes take effect before the midterm elections.
The Supreme Court’s decision was not a ruling on the merits, but rather on the timing of the lawsuits and status of regulations being drafted to enforce Trump’s Executive Order. And, numerous other lawsuits challenging the Order remain undecided.
Where Things Stand—and What Comes Next.
Given the facts and the law: What is the current status of mail-in ballots? Has this dispute already chilled the public’s trust in absentee voting? Will the litigation outcomes and the regulations be clear in time for the distribution of (and later the counting of) absentee ballots? This CLE presentation will bring you up to speed on all the latest rulings and rules, and will include a discussion of how the midterm elections could be affected.
The discussion at a glance:
The Executive Order and the Legal Challenge
- What the order seeks to change in the use and administration of mail-in ballots
Courts Weigh In
- Key rulings from the federal district court, First Circuit, and U.S. Supreme Court
The Current Rules for Mail-In Ballots
- The status of USPS regulations, litigation, and implementation
What Comes Next?
- Outstanding legal questions, potential impact on ballot distribution and counting, and what practitioners should watch heading into the 2026 midterm elections
Presented in partnership with Keep Our Republic. Keep Our Republic is a nonpartisan civic education organization committed to the vitality of America’s democracy by promoting trust in elections, the rule of law and constitutional checks and balances.
Faculty
Hon. John E. Jones III, (Ret.)
John E. Jones III serves as the 30th president of Dickinson College. He was named interim president of Dickinson in summer 2021. Jones previously served as chair of Dickinson’s board of trustees and retired as chief judge of the U.S. Middle District Court of Pennsylvania. He was appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate in 2002. Jones presided over a number of high-profile cases, including the landmark case of Kitzmiller v. Dover School District, after which he held that it was unconstitutional to teach intelligent design within a public school science curriculum. He also resolved the matter of Whitewood v. Wolf by striking down as unconstitutional Pennsylvania’s ban on same-sex marriage. Jones co-chaired Pennsylvania Governor-elect Tom Ridge’s transition team and served as chair of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Jones has received numerous accolades during his career. In 2006, Time Magazine named him as one of its Time 100 most influential people in the world. He was the recipient of the first John Marshall Judicial Independence Award given by the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He also received the Geological Society of America’s President’s Medal and was inducted into the George Washington Spirit Society. An engaged alumnus and champion of the liberal arts, Jones was presented with an honorary doctorate in law and public policy from Dickinson College, where he also was recognized as one of the 25 most influential graduates in the college’s history. Born and raised in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, he is a graduate of Mercersburg Academy, Dickinson College and Penn State Dickinson Law. He and his wife Beth have two children, Meghan and John and four grandchildren.
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