Polygraph

BREAKING: Supreme Court REJECTS Trump's Mail-In Ballot Restrictions

Bulwark Takes, Checked

Polygraph score
92Holds up18 claims checked
Details
What it claims
4 mixed2 can’t tell22 true
How it argues
Nothing found
How it persuades
Nothing found
What it’s built on
Nothing found
Bulwark TakesSep 15, 2026
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Bulwark TakesBREAKING: Supreme Court REJECTS Trump's Mail-In Ballot RestrictionsWhole episode, 33:26
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28 claims

What it claims

Claims

  1. 1MixedThe Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration's executive order regarding mail-in voting regulations.The Supreme Court did block the Trump administration's mail-voting effort on September 14, 2026, declining to let the Postal Service enforce its rule implementing the March executive order. But on August 24 the Court lifted a lower-court block on the executive order itself, so the claim that it blocked the order is only partly accurate. The post's 'effort to police mail voting' is best read as the USPS rule and implementation, which the Court did block.8 sources →
  2. 2TrueJustice Brett Kavanaugh concurred with the majority opinion in the Supreme Court's denial of a stay on the mail-in ballot restriction.The Supreme Court's unsigned September 14, 2026 order denied the government's stay request, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh filed a one-paragraph concurrence agreeing with that denial. The extracted claim is faithful to the passage, and the sources confirm the concurrence in the denial.4 sources →

    ▶ 3:05

  3. 3TrueJustice Brett Kavanaugh stated that applying the mail-in ballot rule in the 2026 elections would be arbitrary and capricious because election officials lack sufficient time to implement it.Kavanaugh's concurrence in the Supreme Court's September 14, 2026 order (No. 26A305) states that applying the mail-in ballot rule in the 2026 elections would be arbitrary and capricious under the APA because state and local election officials lack sufficient time to implement it; the primary opinion text and multiple outlets confirm this. The claim's added framing ('stated') matches the concurrence, and the passage does not depart from it.5 sources →

    ▶ 3:14

  4. 4TrueSupreme Court Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett voted against Donald Trump in the case regarding mail-in ballot restrictions.The September 14, 2026 Supreme Court order refusing to let the Postal Service enforce Trump's mail-ballot rule had only Alito and Thomas dissenting, so Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett joined the majority against the administration's request. The claim departs from the passage in no material way, and the sources confirm it.5 sources →

    ▶ 5:37

  5. 5TrueDonald Trump's executive order required states to submit lists of eligible voters to the U.S. Postal Service.The claim matches the post's passage and is supported by multiple reliable sources: the March 31, 2026 executive order required states to provide the U.S. Postal Service with lists of voters eligible for mail ballots, and the USPS would deliver ballots only to people on those lists. The order was later blocked by a court and then the injunctions were lifted, but the requirement itself is documented.6 sources →

    ▶ 7:09

  6. 6TrueDonald Trump's executive order required states to use tracking barcodes on ballot envelopes.Multiple primary and tier1 sources (the EO text, the White House fact sheet, Reuters, and CRS) confirm that Trump's March 31, 2026 executive order (EO 14399) directed the USPS to require secure ballot envelopes with unique tracking barcodes, and tier2 CNN reporting describes the same requirement. The claim's wording is a slight paraphrase of the post, which said the order 'required states' to use barcodes; the sources say the order directs USPS rulemaking that applies to states mailing ballots through USPS, which is a standard reading and not a contradiction.7 sources →

    ▶ 7:20

  7. 7TrueDonald Trump's executive order prioritized federal prosecution of state election officials who send or receive ballots to non-citizens or others ineligible to vote.The executive order (EO 14399, signed March 2026) does direct the Attorney General to prioritize investigation and prosecution of state and local officials who issue federal ballots to ineligible voters, which matches the claim's core. The sources' wording is 'issue or distribute' rather than 'send or receive', a minor paraphrase that the post itself and CNN's report use interchangeably, so the claim is graded as accurate.6 sources →

    ▶ 7:23

  8. 8TrueSenator Richard Blumenthal received information from a whistleblower regarding rules for mail-in ballots.Multiple tier1 and primary sources (AP, Minnesota Secretary of State, Blumenthal's own letter) confirm that Senator Richard Blumenthal publicly released a whistleblower disclosure about the USPS rule implementing Trump's mail-in ballot executive order. The claim's wording is a faithful extraction of the passage's correction to Blumenthal, and the sources support the core assertion; the post's rejected attribution to Whitehouse was corrected by the speaker.6 sources →

    ▶ 10:03

  9. 9TrueThe Trump administration proposed a USPS mail portal software system for states to log and cross-check voter files.The sources consistently describe a Trump executive order that directed USPS to build a portal where states would upload voter lists, which USPS would use to verify ballots. The claim's core assertion is supported, and the extraction faithfully tracks the passage. The sources do not say whether the portal was formally 'proposed' in a rulemaking separate from the order, but this is a peripheral detail.8 sources →

    ▶ 10:32

  10. 10TrueThe Lenox Spice Village collection was originally released in 1989.Multiple independent sources (Vogue, Country & Town House, Chowhound, Good Housekeeping, Tocuro, The Pioneer Woman) state the Lenox Spice Village was first released in 1989, and the Lenox Corporation's own page refers to its 'original 1989 collection.' The claim is a faithful extraction of the passage's 'calling back to the originals from 1989,' and no source contradicts the 1989 date.7 sources →

    ▶ 11:35

  11. 11TrueThe Supreme Court granted a stay in a legal case regarding mail-in ballot restrictions.The Supreme Court granted a stay on August 24, 2026 in Trump v. California (26A124), a case over the executive order on mail-in ballots, on standing and ripeness grounds, which matches the claim and the post's 'on grounds of standing' remark. A later September 14 order in Postal Service v. California (26A305) denied a different stay request, so the court did both within the same litigation, but that does not contradict the August stay.5 sources →

    ▶ 13:59

  12. 12MixedThe Republican governor of Wyoming complained that Department of Justice officials were meddling in state elections by attempting to gain access to voting rolls.Wyoming Republican Gov. Mark Gordon did publicly criticize DOJ election monitors as 'aggressive' and 'irregular' and said he didn't like the federal government 'taking our votes,' so the general complaint of meddling is supported. However, the sources describe his complaint as centered on monitors interviewing voters and seeking access to polling machines at the August primary, not on DOJ trying to gain access to voting rolls, which the claim adds. The passage itself is the claimant's recollection and is not evidence.7 sources →

    ▶ 17:31

  13. 13TrueMike Pence did not overturn any actual votes on January 6.Multiple tier-1 and tier-2 sources report that Pence refused to reject or return electoral votes and certified the results on January 6, 2021, so he overturned no votes. The passage's core point is that objecting Republicans failed to overturn votes, and the extracted claim shifts the subject to Pence, though the passage itself implies Pence did not overturn votes either.6 sources →

    ▶ 19:14

  14. 14TrueZBiotics has sold more than 14 million bottles of its Pre-Alcohol product.The claim is supported as of 2026-09-15: sources from July 2026 report ZBiotics had sold more than 15 million Pre-Alcohol bottles, which is consistent with the claimed 'more than 14 million'. These figures are company-reported and unaudited, so confidence is moderate.7 sources →

    ▶ 21:04

  15. 15TrueThe Supreme Court previously stated that no party had standing to sue over the United States Postal Service's election rules until the agency released its final rule.The Supreme Court's August 24, 2026 per curiam order in Trump v. California lifted the injunction because the states' challenge was premature: the Court found the states lacked standing and the case unripe before USPS had issued a final rule, and it said federal courts review final rules, not proposals. The sources say the states lacked standing, not literally 'no party', and the final rule was published August 21, three days before the order, so the chronology is looser than the post's 'until' implies, but the core assertion holds.4 sources →

    ▶ 25:50

  16. 16TrueThe Supreme Court ruled in favor of states challenging the United States Postal Service's election rulemaking process.On September 14, 2026, the Supreme Court declined the Trump administration's request to lift a preliminary injunction blocking the USPS mail-ballot rule, saying the government was unlikely to succeed, as reported by AP and Reuters while state and voting-rights challenges proceed. The ruling was an emergency order on a stay request, not a final merits decision, but it still favored the states' side, and the claim matches the passage's wording.4 sources →

    ▶ 26:05

  17. 17MixedThe Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court to overrule injunctions against the United States Postal Service's election rules six weeks before election day.The Trump administration did appeal to the Supreme Court to lift the injunction against the USPS mail-ballot rule, with its application filed September 3 and renewed September 6. However, that is about eight weeks before the November 3 election, not six, and the Court rejected the bid on September 14.Minor detail. The sources confirm the claim; only a minor detail differs, such as a name's spelling, a title's wording or a rounding.6 sources →

    ▶ 27:08

  18. 18TrueDonald Trump has characterized mail-in voting as an inherently corrupt system.Multiple tier1 and tier2 sources report that Trump repeatedly and directly described mail-in ballots as 'inherently corrupt', including in a July 16, 2026 primetime address and later remarks, so the claim that he characterized mail-in voting as an inherently corrupt system is supported. The claim's wording is a faithful paraphrase of the passage, which refers to mail-in balloting being inherently corrupt; the sources also show he made related statements, and fact-checkers rate the underlying assertion as unsupported, but the claim is about what he characterized it as, which is confirmed.8 sources →

    ▶ 29:07

  19. 19TrueDonald Trump has voted by mail.Multiple tier1 and tier2 sources (AP, Reuters, Snopes, PolitiFact, NBC, Politico) report Trump voted by mail in Florida elections, including a March 2026 special election and the August 2026 Republican primary, with the White House confirming the August vote. The claim's core assertion is supported; the specific 2026 elections and that the post's passage references the same act are peripheral details, and the claim as extracted matches the passage's 'he also voted by mail'.8 sources →

    ▶ 29:45

  20. 20TrueIn August 2025, Donald Trump revealed a world leader who suggested the idea of mail-in ballot restrictions to him.Reuters and other tier1 outlets confirm that in August 2025 Trump told Hannity that Vladimir Putin had said mail-in voting cannot produce a fair election, and Trump then moved to end mail-in ballots. Fact-checkers dispute Trump's account of Putin saying the 2020 election was rigged, but that dispute concerns the content of Putin's remark, not whether Trump revealed that Putin raised the idea.6 sources →

    ▶ 29:49

  21. 21Can’t tellVladimir Putin told Donald Trump that the 2020 U.S. election was rigged because of mail-in voting.The only account that Putin said this comes from Trump's own description of their Alaska meeting, which Reuters, NBC, PolitiFact and others report without independent confirmation of Putin's words. Fact-checkers do reject the underlying claim that the 2020 election was rigged by mail-in voting, but no source confirms or refutes that Putin said it.4 sources →

    ▶ 30:03

  22. 22Can’t tellVladimir Putin told Donald Trump that if Trump had won the 2020 election, there would not have been a war in Ukraine.The only source for the private exchange is Trump's own account on Hannity, which the claim relies on, and the Kremlin did not confirm it. Putin did publicly say in January and August 2025 that the Ukraine crisis might not have happened had Trump been president or his 2020 victory not been stolen, so the sentiment is documented even though the private conversation is not.7 sources →

    ▶ 30:23

  23. 23TrueCountries that use mail-in voting include Canada, Germany, Iceland, South Korea, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Poland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.The ten countries named match the International IDEA list of countries that allow all voters to vote by postal ballot, as reported by FactCheck.org, Snopes, Statista, and IDEA's own page, all before the 2026-09-15 posting date. The claim's wording departs only trivially from the passage ("include" versus "The other countries include"), which does not change the substance; sources differ on whether Denmark belongs on the all-voter list, but that does not affect the ten named countries.6 sources →

    ▶ 30:48

  24. 24TrueThe Supreme Court issued a 7-2 ruling denying a stay on a lower court's injunction against Donald Trump's mail-in ballot restrictions for the U.S. Postal Service.Multiple tier-1 and tier-2 sources report that on September 14, 2026 the Supreme Court voted 7-2 to deny the Trump administration's emergency application for a stay, leaving in place a lower court injunction against the USPS mail-ballot rules, with Thomas and Alito dissenting. The claim matches the reporting, though the sources also note the August injunction history and that the order was brief and unsigned.6 sources →

    ▶ 1:19

  25. 25TrueJudge Luttig wrote an article in The New Republic stating that January 3 is more important than November 3 regarding the election.The New Republic's author page lists Michael Luttig's September 10, 2026 essay "The Final Battle for America's Democracy," which opens "Forget November 3. It's January 3," and several outlets describe it the same way. The passage's "Judge Ludding" is a garbled reference to Luttig, and the claim faithfully reflects the passage.4 sources →

    ▶ 18:16

  26. 26TrueJustices Alito and Thomas wrote in a dissent that the Postal Service has statutory authority to adopt rules and regulations for the collection, handling, transportation, delivery, forwarding, returning, and holding of mail.The primary text of Justice Alito's dissent, joined by Justice Thomas, states that the Postal Service's authority to promulgate the rule is a statutory question and that Congress may authorize the Postal Service to issue such rules; Reuters and other outlets quote him saying the Postal Service has broad authority to regulate the mail. The excerpted sources do not reproduce the exact list of mail-handling powers (collection, handling, transportation, etc.), but that detail is peripheral to the core assertion and is consistent with the statutory language the post attributes to the dissent.5 sources →

    ▶ 22:17

  27. 27TrueJustices Alito and Thomas wrote that the government has a strong interest in enforcing a rule to enhance the visibility of federal ballot mail to better detect election fraud.The Supreme Court's official dissent in No. 26A305 shows Justice Alito, joined by Justice Thomas, writing that the government has a strong interest in enforcing the rule and that implementing it will 'enhance the visibility of Federal Ballot Mail' to better detect election fraud. Multiple independent outlets quote the same passage, so the claim matches the record.8 sources →

    ▶ 23:21

  28. 28MixedThe Bulwark is hosting a live show in Springfield, Ohio, on September 25th to benefit the Haitian community.The September 25 date and the benefit for Springfield's Haitian community are supported by the Bulwark's own announcement and later coverage, but the sources place the show at the Dayton Masonic Center in Dayton, Ohio, not in Springfield. Read literally ('in Springfield'), the claim conflicts with the venue; read as intended (a Bulwark show benefiting Springfield's Haitian community), it is supported. The claim was made on 2026-09-15, and the Bulwark's pre-event announcement of 2026-09-12 already gave the Dayton venue.4 sources →

    ▶ 34:58

Sources

Fact-checkers 26Primary records 13Most reliable outlets 3Reliable outlets 23Less reliable outlets 2Unrated 79

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