Bellows says election will proceed as usual, despite legal battle over Trump’s mail-in voting order

Despite the ongoing legal battle over President Donald Trump’s efforts to restrict voting by mail, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows reiterated Thursday that for voters in Maine and across the country, nothing has changed.

Bellows and other election officials are arguing that Trump’s executive order placing new restrictions on mail-in voting would present massive — if not impossible — challenges to reach compliance in time for the Nov. 3 election. 

On Thursday, the Trump administration appealed directly to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court and allow the order, which directed the U.S. Postal Service to strictly regulate the envelope design of mail-in ballots and to collect voter data from each state through an online portal, among other things. The agency has argued that its rule is not an election regulation, but is within its purview as a standard for a specific type of mail.

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“To be clear, we do not believe that the Constitution or federal law give the Postal Service or the Trump administration the right to restrict who votes by mail,” Bellows told Maine Morning Star. Maine is among more than 20 Democratic-led states suing to block the order. 

“We see what the Postal Service is trying to do as direct interference in the 2026 election,” Bellows added.

Still, the secretary said the state is not changing its approach. “We are not obeying in advance,” she said. “We are following the law and the Constitution, and that means proceeding with our plans for a safe and secure election.” 

With designs finalized, Maine ballots will soon be printed and distributed to towns. 

Roughly 200,000 Maine voters typically cast their ballot by mail, many of whom are older Mainers and Mainers with disabilities. Bellows said her office is “going to do everything in our power to make sure that they are able to vote just like they always have.” 

The secretary said her biggest concern for the upcoming election is that “heated rhetoric or bullying from the Trump administration” will scare people away from voting.

“Trump seems determined to try to lower voter turnout,” she said. 

Bellows is advocating Maine voters, particularly those who are concerned about mail delays or who do not want to vote in-person on Election Day, should make a plan that works for them. 

Beginning Oct. 4, voters can go to their local clerk’s office and cast a no-excuse absentee ballot. 

Ahead of that deadline, clerks will begin mailing ballots to those who have submitted a request or who are an ongoing absentee voter. Bellows noted that anyone who receives their ballot early can also return them via a ballot drop box.