How are federal attempts to block voting affect elections in Washington state in 2026? (FAQ)
- How have changes and threats to the US Postal Service and Vote-by-Mail affected Washington?
Washington has proudly voted by mail or dropbox since 2012.
In recent years, the federal administration has made changes to the USPS that negatively impact vote-by-mail.
- The USPS now postmarks mail when it is processed, not when it is received by your local post office. In Washington, ballots are accepted if they are postmarked on or before the election deadline.
- The federal government has significantly defunded the USPS, which has caused some mail delays. The primary election this year (2026) had an increase in the numbers of late ballots. Rural ballots and ballots that had to be transferred between counties were especially affected by these delays.
What can we do? Plan to vote in the first week of the voting period, use ballot dropboxes, and track your ballot to make sure it is counted.
Using ballot dropboxes in your home county will bypass any USPS delays, which is especially important if you are returning your ballot within 7-10 days of the voting deadline. If you are worried about postmarking issues, you can request a manual postmark for free at your local post office when you mail your ballot.
Whether you vote by mail or dropbox, we advise that you make a plan to vote early this year (in the first week of the voting period). After voting early, track your ballot status at VoteWA.gov to make sure it is accepted.
The USPS is still a reliable way to return your ballot for free, and is especially important for rural voters, disabled voters, and others who cannot use ballot dropboxes.
- What about the 2026 Supreme Court cases and Executive Orders targeting vote-by-mail?
Two recent Supreme Court cases blocked President Trump’s executive orders that would have disrupted vote-by-mail. Washingtonians can expect vote-by-mail to continue as usual, with the noted possible postage delays noted above.
The two failed cases:
The Supreme Court considered a case (Watson v. RNC) that would prevent ballots from being counted if they arrived to election offices after Election Day, even if they were sent and postmarked on time. 10-20% of Washington votes would have been thrown out last year if this policy was in place.
The Supreme Court also considered a case that would have blocked ballots from being issued to voters unless they were on a pre-approved government list. The list would have been made using notoriously inaccurate federal databases, and would have been locked in far before Washington’s voter registration deadlines. It also would have added barcode and other design requirements to ballot envelopes.
- How does the 2026 Supreme Court case that dismantled the Voting Rights Act affect Washington?
The Voting Rights Act was a major victory of the Civil Rights Movement, created to ensure proper representation for Black voters and other voters of color. Section 2, which was struck down on April 29, 2026 in Louisiana v. Callais, outlawed practices that denied or abridged voting rights because of race.
One of these practices, called gerrymandering, has historically been used by white lawmakers to ensure Black voters have no representation in government. This usually includes breaking up minority communities into white-majority districts (cracking) or packing them into fewer districts to minimize the number of representatives they can elect (packing).
Louisiana v. Callais makes it much more difficult for voters of color to challenge and fix district maps that dilute their voting power. This decision is already affecting our country, with some states like Tennessee immediately redrawing their maps to break up Black-majority districts.
In Washington, we have a state-level Voting Rights Act that voters can use to challenge discriminatory voting changes. We just made it stronger in 2026 by adding a preclearance clause and protections against vote suppression and dilution. However, the Callais decision will likely make it more difficult to remedy these issues, and some Washington politicians have already tried to overturn the maps drawn under the Washington Voting Rights Act in Yakima. This would have returned us to a system that diluted Latino votes and limited Latino representation.
- How would the “SAVE” Act (Voter Elimination Act) harm Washington voters?
The “SAVE” Act is an extremely restrictive, anti-voter bill that Congress has been considering for several years now. It would require voter registration and address updates to be done only in person, and requires voters to show an original copy of their birth certificate or passport.
Half of all citizens do not own a passport, which are expensive documents out of reach for many Americans. Millions don’t have access to their birth certificates, and many married women and others with name changes do not have a birth certificate that matches their current legal name. And many more, especially rural voters, elderly voters, and disabled voters, would find it difficult or impossible to travel in person to a vote center.
In a state like ours where the vast majority of voter registrations are done online or by mail (using social security numbers and driver’s license data), the SAVE Act would upend our voter registration system. It would add unnecessary friction into a system that works well for our state.
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