北卡罗来纳州周五成为首个大规模启动中期选举邮件投票的州1。然而，这一过程笼罩在特朗普政府限制性政策的阴影之下。特朗普于3月签署行政令，要求州向邮政局提交选民名单，并规定选票必须符合新的邮政规则并包含条形码1。虽然最高法院上周做出的程序性裁定对特朗普有利，但未就案件实质问题做出裁决1。
邮件投票规则的变化已经产生明显后果。加州6月初选中近150,000张邮件投票因邮戳过晚被拒1，华盛顿州8月初选被拒的邮件投票数比两年前初选增加32%1。选举创新与研究中心执行主任大卫·贝克尔指出"今年中期选举已过了实施重大选举变化的时间"1。州选举官员表示将如期寄出选票并确保选举安全，威斯康星州的1,850个市级书记员已开始提前向选民寄送邮件选票1。
民主党阵营正对特朗普的举措提起诉讼。民主党参议员玛丽亚·坎特韦尔质疑"当我们拥有全美最好的系统之一时，为什么要剥夺美国人的投票权？"1 民主党州检察长杰夫·杰克逊等州官员已加入诉讼，反对特朗普行政令和邮政局提议的变化1。
Mail ballots for the midterm elections started going out to voters on Friday, with North Carolina becoming the first state to conduct widespread distribution 1. The rollout occurs amid ongoing litigation surrounding an executive order signed by Trump in March that seeks to restrict mail voting by requiring states to submit voter lists to the U.S. Postal Service and mandating that ballots comply with new postal regulations and include barcodes 1.
The Supreme Court issued a procedural ruling favoring Trump last week, though it did not decide the substantive issues in the case 1. State election officials have indicated they will proceed with sending ballots on schedule while ensuring election security 1. However, changes to postal processing procedures have raised concerns, as rejection rates for mail ballots have increased significantly in recent voting cycles—approximately 150,000 mail ballots were rejected in California's June primary due to late postmarks, and Washington state saw a 32 percent increase in rejected mail ballots during its August primary compared to two years prior 1. Wisconsin officials have already begun mailing ballots early to voters, with approximately 1,850 municipal clerks statewide participating in the process 1.
Democratic state officials, including state Attorney General Jeff Jackson, have joined litigation opposing Trump's executive order and the proposed postal changes 1. Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell questioned the rationale, asking: "Why would we want to disenfranchise Americans when we have one of the best systems in the nation?" 1 Meanwhile, David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, noted that "we are past the point where we should be implementing major election changes in this midterm cycle" 1.
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