The Trump administration filed another emergency request Thursday to the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the U.S. Postal Service to enforce President Donald Trump's sweeping new restrictions on mail-in voting just two months ahead of the November midterm elections.
The emergency appeal leapfrogged lower courts still considering the changes and seeks to lift a Boston federal judge’s order blocking the USPS from moving forward with the proposed changes.
Trump's executive order, signed in March, directs the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to create a nationwide list of eligible voters. It also says that if states want their mail-in ballots delivered, then they must get federal approval on envelope designs and must give the USPS a list of voters that are eligible to receive them.
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In August, the Supreme Court cleared the way for Trump's executive order, but refused to rule on the legality of the order — leaving room for additional court challenges. Then about two dozen Democratic-led states quickly filed a new lawsuit seeking to block the president's order.
Meanwhile, some states have already began sending out mail ballots for the November midterms and every state is federally required to send mail ballots to military and overseas voters by mid-September. President Trump and the Department of Justice appear to have little concern with the calendar, believing election integrity is more important.
