Spain

Madrid, September 16, 2026. The Spanish press notes that the US Supreme Court's decision is a new judicial setback for Donald Trump, just seven weeks before the November 3 midterm elections. The conservative-majority court, with 6 votes to 3, rejected the Republican administration's emergency request on Monday, September 14, which aimed to impose new rules on the US Postal Service (USPS) for mail-in voting. ElDiario.es mentions a "new reversal by the Supreme Court for Trump" that, according to the newspaper, puts an end to a series of intertwined judicial actions and election preparations, already underway in several states just 50 days before the vote.

The White House plan required states to transmit the list of registered voters for remote voting to the postal service, acquire specific printers, and apply a new barcode verification system, which, according to Expansión, could jeopardize entire batches of ballots due to a single identification error. The decision confirms the blockages previously pronounced by Boston federal judge Indira Talwani and a Washington judge over the weekend.

The Spanish press details the divergent opinions. Judge Brett Kavanaugh, in a concurring opinion cited by El País, estimates that "local election officials do not have enough time to reasonably apply the rule before the elections," while hinting that he could rule in favor of the government in the future. Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, on the other hand, expressed their disagreement: according to ElDiario.es, Alito believes that the Postal Service "has broad authority to regulate mail" and probably has the power to apply the restrictions proposed by Trump.

Spanish media highlights the demographic stakes of the case: nearly a third of the country votes by mail, and the decision allows states to continue sending ballots according to procedures used for years. Alabama, North Carolina, and Wisconsin had already begun sending their ballots last week, even before the contested system came into effect. Since his 2020 defeat against Joe Biden, recalls Expansión, Trump has been stirring up the specter of electoral fraud without providing evidence. The administration has indicated that it can present new rules for the 2028 election.