North Carolina begins distributing mail-in ballots as Trump-backed rules face legal challenges

North Carolina began distributing mail-in ballots on Friday for the November 3 midterm elections, despite a legal dispute over new election rules backed by President Donald Trump’s administration. The Board of Elections announced that the first ballots had been mailed, while other states are expected to begin the process in the coming days.

The controversy concerns measures that would give the U.S. Postal Service an important role in verifying mail-in voting. The changes include requiring states to submit ballot-envelope designs to USPS for approval and delivering ballots only to voters registered on lists provided by local authorities.

Last week, a federal judge in Boston issued a preliminary injunction against the administration’s plans, finding that they could violate the states’ constitutional authority to conduct elections and could not be implemented in time.

Republicans argue that the measures combat election fraud, without having presented evidence of widespread fraud. Critics say the rules would make voting more difficult and would particularly affect Democrats, whose voters are more likely to use mail-in voting. It remains unclear what will happen to ballots already mailed if the courts later allow the new rules to take effect. The elections will determine control of Congress, where Republicans hold narrow majorities in both chambers?

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