A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Postal Service rule that could impede millions of mail voters. The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to weigh in.
Judge Indira Talwani said the Postal Service appeared to be trying a haphazard “experiment” with a new rule that could result in valid ballots being tossed.
The justices have been asked to weigh in again on the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict mail voting — this time on whether the plans violate the Constitution.
Administration lawyers asked the Supreme Court to clear the way for a new rule that prohibits the Postal Service from delivering ballots to voters in states that do not share voter data with the federal agency.
Judge Indira Talwani said the Postal Service appeared to be trying a haphazard “experiment” with a new rule that could result in valid ballots being tossed.
A group of 18-year-old students registering to vote at what was then the Atlanta Division of the University of Georgia on Jan. 15, 1954. Georgia extended the right even before the adoption of the 26th Amendment.
Election officials warn that the creation of a new online portal for states to upload voter information is already fueling confusion and could ultimately disenfranchise voters.
The Postal Service disputed allegations by the whistle-blower that the agency had violated several court orders that should have halted work on the plan.
State officials say they worry about the Postal Service’s ability to deliver votes this fall. They are urging voters to mail their ballots early or use drop boxes so their votes count.
A judge temporarily blocked the agency from implementing a strict new rule governing mail voting. The policy could disproportionately affect Democrats and many battleground elections.
The Postal Service appealed an emergency decision from Thursday that blocked it from changing its procedures for mail-in voting ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
After reviewing the agency’s final plan to comply with President Trump’s demands, a federal judge barred the Postal Service from imposing new restrictions on mail-in voting.
In a filing on Thursday, the Postal Service denied that its proposal left any room for it to second-guess states on which voters were eligible to cast a ballot.
The order came amid a spate of legal challenges, including one by Democratic state attorneys general, that could still result in the rules being blocked.
Under its new plan, the Postal Service would not deliver mail ballots in states that do not share voter data with the agency and would deliver only ballots that meet certain criteria.
The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to continue with plans to curtail mail-in voting, but the fast-moving, high-stakes legal fight continues.
President Trump has long made unfounded claims that mail voting is fraudulent and corrupt, even as he has cast his own ballots by mail in multiple elections.
The limits on mail-in voting may not go into effect by November, with a multistate lawsuit expected this week. But some states and experts warned about further voter confusion.
The justices are still struggling with whether and when to explain themselves to the public when the court issues temporary, but consequential, orders.
In 19 months, the president has already asked the justices to intervene far more times than George W. Bush and Barack Obama did during their 16 years in office combined.
That effort got new attention on Monday, when the Supreme Court allowed preparations for mail voting curbs to proceed. The justices said it is not a final determination on the order’s legality.
The administration asked the court to clear the way for President Trump’s order that creates “state citizenship lists” and directs the Postal Service to decide who gets a mail-in ballot.
The plan, which complies with President Trump’s executive order to curtail mail voting, will only go into effect if the Supreme Court rules in the order’s favor.
Florida counted most of its primary ballots within hours on Tuesday night, well ahead of the days California took to report the results of its major election.
Election workers sort vote-by-mail ballots at the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office for the Florida primary election in Doral, Fla., on Tuesday.
The president also voted by mail in 2020 and in a Florida special election in March, even as he has railed against the practice and equated it to cheating.
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