DOMINANT ANGLE
Switzerland is measuring this judicial setback for Trump in light of its own practice of voting by mail, presented by an expert cited beyond the Sarine as being as secure as any other voting method.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
The Supreme Court rejected on Monday, September 14, in the evening, by a majority of 7 votes to 2 according to the expert cited by SRF, the emergency request from the Trump administration in the USPS case against California.
- 02
Judge Brett Kavanaugh joined a concurring opinion judging an application of the new rules before November 3 as "arbitrary", while Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas expressed their disagreement.
- 03
The Trump decree, signed at the end of March, required states to transmit to the Post Office the list of voters registered for mail-in voting and the use of barcode envelopes, in the name of fighting fraud - for which evidence remains rare according to SRF.
ANALYSIS
Berne, September 16, 2026. The US Supreme Court rejected on Monday, September 14, the Trump administration's emergency request to impose new rules on the postal service for mail-in voting in the case of USPS vs. California. An unusual majority, reported by SRF to be 7 votes to 2, left in place the suspension issued by a federal judge for the midterm election on November 3. Conservative Judge Brett Kavanaugh joined a concurring opinion, estimating that the new rules, even if valid in principle, would be "arbitrary" to apply so close to the vote. Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas expressed their disagreement.
The presidential decree, signed at the end of March, required states to transmit to the Post Office the list of their registered voters for mail-in voting, to install specific printers, and to apply a system of bar-coded envelopes. Washington justified the measure by citing the fight against electoral fraud - a phenomenon for which, notes SRF, evidence of widespread fraud remains rare. The appeal was brought by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and twenty-two other Democratic states; the administration claims it can submit new rules for 2028.
For the expert interviewed by the German-language public radio, Stephan Bierling, the maneuver is primarily a political calculation: since Democrats use mail-in voting more, particularly among black and Hispanic minorities, Donald Trump would seek to weaken their camp ahead of midterm elections that promise to be difficult. Bierling recalls a point that resonates in Switzerland, where mail-in voting has been a common practice for decades: in his view, this voting method is just as secure as any other in the United States, just like in Germany or Switzerland. In his eyes, the president is primarily seeking to construct a scapegoat on which to project his frustrations after his clear defeat in 2020.
The Swiss press reports the relief of the American press, quoting the New Yorker: "With three dull and technocratic sentences, the Supreme Court saved the midterm elections." For Swiss editorial offices, a fundamental question remains: the judicial battle is only suspended, with the administration reserving the possibility of returning to the charge by the 2028 presidential election.
