The Trump administration returned to the Supreme Court on Sunday, asking the justices once again to step in after a federal judge halted new mail ballot restrictions ahead of the midterm elections.
The emergency filing followed a decision by US District Court Judge Indira Talwani to extend an order preventing the Postal Service from enforcing President Donald Trump’s executive order for the November elections.
The dispute is unfolding on a fast-moving election calendar, with several states already beginning to send mail ballots to voters and the administration facing a narrowing window to alter vote-by-mail procedures.
“Ballots have already begun to be mailed in North Carolina, and more States will begin the mailing process as the injunction remains in place — including Alabama on Sept. 9 and at least five States the week of Sept. 13,” Solicitor General John Sauer wrote in the filing.
“Once those ballot envelopes enter the mailstream, there is no retrieving them. And while the injunction allows the Postal Service and the States to continue taking steps to ensure that their envelopes satisfy the Rule’s requirements … each day the injunction is in place risks sowing confusion and chaos because the injunction makes those preparatory steps voluntary, rather than mandatory.”
Sunday’s appeal is the third time the administration has sought Supreme Court intervention in the fight over mail voting rules. The court has previously permitted the plan to proceed in some respects, but it has not issued a final decision on the legality of the policy.
The outcome could carry significant consequences for this year’s elections, with control of Congress on the line. Mail-in voting remains a major part of the US election system, with nearly one-third of American voters casting ballots by mail.
Democratic-led states and voting rights organizations argue that the changes violate the Constitution. Election officials, meanwhile, say there is not enough time to overhaul their procedures and comply with the new Postal Service directives before voting is underway.
The Trump administration has framed the restrictions as commonsense changes that are within its power to regulate the mail.
“Simply put, the best way to address respondents’ fears about inability to comply with the Rule is to grant an immediate administrative stay of the order, followed by a full stay pending further review,” Sauer said. “That will remove the improper cloud of uncertainty that the district court has cast over the Rule, making clear to all involved that compliance with the Rule is not optional and must start without further delay.”
The filing added that eligibility for mail-in and absentee voting will continue to be governed by state law and state and local officials will determine who is eligible to use the method and which ballots are eligible to be counted. “The Postal Service will not play any role in determining voter eligibility, maintaining voter rolls, or counting ballots.”
Trump has long sought to limit mail voting, even though he himself often uses that method to cast his own ballot. He has falsely blamed mail balloting for his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Bden, spreading baseless claims of fraud. But so far, he has been unable to change the longstanding voting procedure.
