Johnson warns mail ballot rule could disrupt midterms

Johnson cites timing risks

South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson joined other Republican election officials in warning the U.S. Supreme Court about immediately implementing new federal mail ballot requirements before the November 2026 election.

Johnson signed a friend-of-the-court brief that neither supports nor opposes the policy itself. The brief argues that implementing the requirements this close to the election could produce mistakes, delays and confusion while diverting officials from other election preparations. Johnson and the other signers filed in their individual capacities, not on behalf of their states or jurisdictions.

The brief also includes current secretaries of state from Kentucky, North Dakota, Georgia, New Hampshire and Kansas, along with Utah’s lieutenant governor and other current and former local election officials. Some states have already started sending absentee ballots. South Dakota absentee voting is scheduled to begin Sept. 18.

State officials take different legal positions

The dispute concerns a presidential executive order and a U.S. Postal Service final rule. States and local election officials would have to send USPS the names and addresses of voters receiving mail ballots. Only voters whose information was submitted could receive those ballots, and USPS would not deliver them in states that failed to meet the requirements.

A federal judge blocked the rule, and President Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to allow it to take effect. Attorney General Marty Jackley’s office joined the legal effort supporting Trump’s position and signed an Aug. 29 filing asking a district court to remove the preliminary injunction.

Johnson’s filing focuses on timing rather than the policy’s merits. Jackley’s office, by seeking to lift the injunction, supports allowing the restrictions to take effect for the upcoming election.