U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani agreed to lift an order prohibiting the U.S. Postal Service from carrying out President Trump’s executive order for November’s elections.
Trump’s order would limit mail voting, creating problems as the midterm elections approach. New legal challenges began surfacing just two days after the Supreme Court handed down a procedural ruling in Trump’s favor and could mean the issue lands before the high court again before an election that could shift control of Congress. The first mailed ballots are set to be sent out next week. The judge said she was “compelled” to do so after the Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled that a similar injunction she granted in a separate case was premature but noted the EO could unleash “chaos” and referred to it as “likely unconstitutional.”
In that case, the judge also found that the administration had violated a separate injunction she had placed on the Postal Service in drafting the new rule, though there was no action taken against the government. The League of Women Voters originally filed that lawsuit and have asked for a new court order blocking the mail voting plan. With the order lifted, the Trump administration can move forward and implement the most recent Postal Service rule requiring states to fol- low a uniform envelope style for mail ballots and to give the Postal Service a list of voters eligible to receive them. Election officials warn it will be impossible to implement the rule on such short notice. Twenty-five attorneys say the federal government is attempting to meddle in election preparations and potentially threaten countless Americans’ right to vote, and that USPS has no authority to decide who can and cannot vote by mail. The Trump administration plan faces a third lawsuit originally filed in May in the nation’s capital, though courts there have so far declined to block it. All previous challenges were filed before the administration published its mail ballot rule. Trump has long targeted mail voting, which he falsely blames for his 2020 election loss. Since returning to power, Trump has tried assert his authority over election rules, indicating Republicans should “take over” vote counting in Democratic areas. He issued his first election EO after retaking office, attempting to require documentary proof of citizenship to vote, among other changes. He has also been pushing a sweeping election bill that has stalled in the Senate with opposition from both parties.