The Trump administration returned to the Supreme Court on Sunday, asking the justices to step in after a federal judge halted new limits on mail-in ballots in the run-up to the midterm elections.
The emergency filing followed a decision by US District Judge Indira Talwani, who prolonged an order preventing the Postal Service from carrying out President Donald Trump’s executive order affecting mail ballot procedures for the November contests.
The dispute is unfolding at a critical moment in the election calendar, as several states have already begun sending absentee and mail ballots to voters, narrowing the window for the administration to impose significant changes to voting rules.
“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 Supreme Court 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.”
The appeal marks the third time the administration has asked the high court to intervene. The high court has allowed the plan to move forward but not ruled on whether it is legal.
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The battle could have major ramifications for this year’s elections, when control of Congress is at stake. Nearly one-third of voters in the US cast mail ballots.
Democratic states and voting rights groups say the changes are unconstitutional. Election officials contend there isn’t enough time to revise their systems to comply with the new Postal Service directives.
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.