People deposit U.S. presidential election mail-in ballots at a drop box in Phoenix, Arizona, October 18, 2020.
Robin Beck | AFP | Getty Images
The Trump administration renewed its appeal to the Supreme Court on Sunday after a federal judge blocked new restrictions on mail-in voting ahead of the midterm elections.
The lawsuit was filed after U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani extended an order for the Postal Service to enforce President Donald Trump’s executive order ahead of the November election.
Even as states have begun shipping out mail-in ballots, legal wrangling has left little time for the administration to make major changes to mail-in voting rules.
“North Carolina has already begun mailing out ballots, and as the injunction continues, more states will begin mailing ballots, including Alabama on September 9th and at least five states the week of September 13th,” Attorney General John Sauer said in the filing.
“Once these ballot envelopes enter the mail stream, they cannot be retrieved. And while the injunction allows the Postal Service and the state to continue taking steps to ensure the envelopes meet the requirements of the rule, it risks confusion and confusion each day the injunction goes into effect, because the injunction makes these preliminary steps voluntary rather than mandatory.”
The latest appeal marks the third time the government has asked the high court to intervene. The high court allowed the plan to move forward, but did not rule on whether it was legal.
The battle could have a major impact on this year’s elections, where control of Congress is at stake. Nearly one-third of U.S. voters vote by mail.
Democratic state and voting rights groups say the change is unconstitutional. Election officials claim they haven’t had enough time to modify their systems to comply with the Postal Service’s new directives.
The Trump administration framed the restrictions as a common sense change within its authority to regulate the mail.
“Simply put, the best way to address a respondent’s concerns about failure to comply with the regulations is to grant an immediate administrative stay of the order, followed by a permanent stay pending further review,” Sauer said. “This removes the unwarranted cloud of uncertainty that the district court has cast on the rule and makes clear to all concerned that compliance with the rule is not optional and must begin without further delay.”
Eligibility for mail-in and absentee voting will continue to be governed by state law, the filing said, adding that state and local officials will decide who is eligible to use this method and which ballots are counted. “The Postal Service does not play any role in determining voter eligibility, maintaining voter rolls, or tabulating ballots.”
Trump himself has sought to limit mail-in voting for years, even though he frequently uses it. He falsely blamed mail-in voting for his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election and spread baseless claims of fraud. But so far, they have been unable to change long-standing voting procedures.
