North Carolina has started sending out mail-in ballots for the November US midterm elections, becoming the first state to do so. The state's decision to proceed on Friday, 4 September 2026, comes as the Trump administration seeks to implement new restrictions on mail-in voting.
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to revive a rule that would bar the postal service from delivering ballots in states not sharing voter data with the federal government. This rule would also require ballot envelopes to be screened against new standards before delivery.
US Solicitor General D John Sauer stated to the justices that a lower court's freeze on the plan was causing "serious irreparable harm" to the government, states, and voters. A federal judge in Massachusetts, Indira Talwani, had blocked the plan in June, ruling it encroached on states’ constitutional authority over elections. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has given challengers until Tuesday to respond to the administration's request for an immediate stay.
North Carolina's state statute mandates county boards to begin sending absentee ballots 60 days before a general election, making it one of the earliest start dates in the country.