The Cubicle
Also:Who Runs the Count ↗How We Make It Stop ↗
A note from ChloéI build and check this myself, between a lot of other hours. I’m committed to keep adding to it through the election and after — but it’s one person, so if a race isn’t fully checked yet or something’s missing, that’s why. Found a record I should add? thecubicle@proton.me.
Voting Rules by State

Status as of October 5, 2026 · Election Day Nov 3

Voting Rules by State

How voting law changed in each state during Trump's first term (2017–2020) and second term (2025–2026), what changed in between, and the rules that apply on November 3. Tap a state to open it.

Federal actions first: what applies everywhere

Blocked for 2026Mail-voting executive order and Postal Service ruleThe March 2026 order and the August Postal Service rule would have let USPS refuse to deliver ballots to voters not on state-submitted lists. The Supreme Court blocked them for November on Sept. 14 (Alito and Thomas dissenting). Mail voting runs as before.
Permanently blockedProof-of-citizenship executive order (March 2025)A federal judge in Boston permanently blocked the order's citizenship-proof and Election Day-receipt mandates on June 24, 2026, finding the president lacks authority over elections.
UpheldLate-arriving mail ballots (Watson v. RNC)On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 5–4 that states may count ballots postmarked by Election Day that arrive afterward. Fifteen states and DC do; the rest require arrival by Election Day.
Mostly failing in courtJustice Department suits for voter filesDOJ sued about 30 states and DC for full voter lists with ID numbers and birth dates. Courts had dismissed 22 of 31 cases by August; appeals are pending. Twelve states handed over data voluntarily.
StalledSAVE America ActPassed the House 218–213 on Feb. 11, 2026. It lacks 60 Senate votes; a Sept. 30 vote pairing voter ID with a stock-trading ban failed 53–47.
In useDHS SAVE citizenship databaseA growing number of states now run their voter rolls through this immigration database, which can wrongly flag naturalized citizens. Each state's entry notes whether it does.

States

How to read an entry. "ID at the polls" uses the standard categories: strict means voters without ID cast a provisional ballot and must return with ID; non-strict means they can vote another way, such as signing an affidavit. "Mail ballots due" is when a mailed ballot must arrive. The direction label reflects the 2025–26 changes only.

Confirm before acting. Rules change and courts rule late. Check your state election office or the National Association of Secretaries of State's lookup at nass.org/can-i-vote before relying on any single detail here.

Sources. Brennan Center State Voting Laws Roundups (2018, 2019, October 2025, 2025 in Review, October 2026); Voting Rights Lab (2026 Battleground Report; 2026 Session in Review); NCSL (mail-ballot receipt deadlines, updated Sept. 25, 2026; absentee voting evolution 2016–2026; same-day registration, updated March 27, 2026); U.S. Vote Foundation 2026 voter ID chart; Ballotpedia and Wikipedia (2025 and 2026 ballot measures); Votebeat (Watson v. RNC; mail-voting order); ABC News (citizenship order ruling); Holtzman Vogel and State of Surveillance (DOJ voter-file suits). Older first-term and between-term items also draw on widely reported state actions; flag anything that looks off and I'll recheck it.