Trump Asks Justices Again to Curb Mail Voting

Sauer argued the clock is the whole problem. "Ballots have already begun to be mailed in North Carolina, and more States will begin the mailing process as the injunction remains in place," he wrote. "Once those ballot envelopes enter the mailstream, there is no retrieving them." He said each day the injunction stands "risks sowing confusion and chaos" because it makes compliance voluntary rather than mandatory.

Talwani found the opposite. "The court concludes that disenfranchisement for Plaintiff Organizations' members, regardless of residence, is practically inevitable," she wrote, adding that the record contained "no evidence relating to fraudulent mail voting to support the rushed implementation."

Democratic states and voting rights groups say the changes are unconstitutional; election officials say there isn't enough time to rebuild their systems to comply, the AP reported. The administration has framed the restrictions as commonsense changes within its power to regulate the mail.

The right is not united behind the approach either. A Washington Examiner op-ed called the earlier procedural stay at the Supreme Court a "false win" and argued real election integrity requires Congress to pass the SAVE America Act.

HuffPost reported that postal union leaders warn the screening system Trump ordered could drag postal workers into partisan politics and even lead to harassment.