The Trump administration has once again requested the Supreme Court to permit the implementation of new restrictions on mail-in voting. This request was made on Thursday, just a day prior to the distribution of the first mail ballots for the upcoming November midterm elections.
This emergency appeal follows ongoing legal disputes regarding President Donald Trump’s executive order in lower courts. The Supreme Court previously allowed the administration’s plan to proceed amid continuing litigation, although it has yet to decide on the policy’s legality.
The executive order permits the U.S. Postal Service to decline the delivery of ballots from states that fail to furnish lists of eligible voters and adhere to standardized ballot envelope requirements.
The most recent Supreme Court filing occurred shortly after a federal court session in Boston. During this session, a Justice Department attorney could not inform the judge about the operational status of the system required to enforce these new regulations.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani repeatedly urged Justice Department attorney Michael Velchik for clarification on whether the Postal Service could execute the plan described in Trump’s executive order, issued last spring.
An essential aspect of this plan involves establishing an online portal tasked with monitoring tens of millions of mail ballots. States must upload lists of mail-in voters to this portal to ensure ballot delivery. If the system’s information mismatches with what appears on ballot envelopes, those ballots will not be sent.
Judge Talwani questioned the government’s approach, suggesting it might be testing if the system could function amid the upcoming election. She stated, “I don’t even have a declaration from the Postal Service: ‘This is how it will work.’ I don’t have it. I have nothing.”
This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Gray R. Thomas
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