Supreme Court Blocks Trump Mail Ballot Limits
Supreme Court Blocks Trump Mail Ballot Limits
The News
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to let President Donald Trump's new restrictions on mail-in voting take effect before the November midterm elections.
The justices denied the administration's request to stay a lower court order that blocks the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing the rules, leaving the block in place for now.
The decision means states can keep sending out mail ballots under the same procedures they have been using, with early voting already underway in parts of the country.
What the Rule Would Have Done
The Postal Service rule, issued Aug. 21, required pre-approval of ballot envelope designs and an upload of recipient identities to a portal that is still not active, according to Wire's reporting on the case.
Timeline
The Postal Service issues the new mail-ballot rule flowing from Trump's executive order on mail voting, requiring pre-approval of ballot envelope designs and an upload of recipient identities.
A federal judge in Boston, Judge Talwani, an Obama nominee, issues an injunction halting the rule. The administration appeals that order to the Supreme Court.
A second federal judge in Washington, D.C., Judge Nichols, a Trump nominee, blocks the Postal Service from enforcing the changes while the Supreme Court weighs the appeal. Nichols wrote that without an injunction, a significant number of valid ballots risked going uncounted.
The Supreme Court denies the administration's request to stay the Boston injunction, rejecting the restrictions for now ahead of the midterms.
Reactions
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote a concurrence saying the order is likely illegal under the Administrative Procedure Act, Raw Story reported.
The Associated Press described the ruling as capping "a flurry of last-minute legal action with voting in the midterm elections already underway."
Election officials have said implementing the new Postal Service requirements this close to a general election is not feasible. The postal workers' union argues that verifying voter eligibility is not a postal function.
Trump has at times justified his campaign against mail voting in explicitly partisan terms, arguing Republicans' electoral chances depend on whether the practice is allowed. A new analysis from a Democratic-aligned voting rights group, shared first with States Newsroom, found that eliminating mail-in voting would disrupt Democratic voters more than Republican ones.
What's Next
The litigation continues in the lower courts, with two separate injunctions — one from Boston, one from Washington — still standing against the Postal Service rule.
More states are preparing to distribute mail ballots this week. Alabama, North Carolina and Wisconsin are already sending them.
The open questions: whether the administration returns to the justices with a narrower request, and whether any version of the rule can be revived after the midterms.
More
A whistleblower report to Congress warned that millions of voters could lose access if the rule were allowed to stand.
The case drew rulings from judges appointed by both parties — Talwani by President Obama, Nichols by Trump — and both went against the administration.
Poll
Should the Postal Service play a role in policing mail-in ballots?
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