Trump administration moves US Supreme Court to allow sweeping changes to mail ballots

WASHINGTON: The Donald Trump administration has approached the US Supreme Court seeking permission to implement sweeping changes to the handling of mail ballots, escalating a month-long legal battle over the US President’s executive order on election procedures ahead of the November midterm elections, CNN reported.

According to CNN, the US Justice Department filed an emergency appeal before the top court on Thursday (local time), asking it to intervene immediately and allow the US Postal Service (USPS) to implement new regulations concerning election-related mail.

The appeal comes less than two months before the midterm elections and while lower courts are still considering the broader legal challenge to Trump’s executive order, which was signed in March and gave federal agencies a greater role in election-related matters.

Voter advocacy groups and a coalition of 23 Democratic-led states have challenged the order in federal court, arguing that neither the US President nor the US Postal Service should have authority over which mail ballots are delivered to voters, CNN reported.

BREAKING: The Supreme Court signals it will STRIKE DOWN state laws allowing mail-in ballots to be counted after Election Day.

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The administration, however, has characterised the USPS changes as limited postal requirements rather than an attempt to take control of elections. “The rule thus plainly does not seize control of states’ administration of elections,” the administration told the Supreme Court. “It simply imposes reasonable preparation requirements for certain election-related mail,” it added.

The administration described the regulations as “only modest envelope-design and addressee-information requirements” and argued that they fall within the Postal Service’s authority to regulate mail.

Under the new regulations, states would be required to submit lists of eligible mail voters to USPS through an online portal before ballots are sent through the mail. If a voter’s name does not appear on the list, the Postal Service would decline to deliver the mail ballot, as reported by CNN. The USPS rule would also require election-mail envelopes to carry unique bar codes for individual voters.

Several election officials have warned that implementing a new mail-ballot system only weeks before the election could disrupt existing procedures and create problems in getting ballots to voters. North Carolina is scheduled to begin sending its mail ballots on Friday, adding to the urgency cited by the administration in its appeal.

The Justice Department argued that without Supreme Court intervention, a lower court order blocking the USPS rule would interfere with efforts to address what it described as the risk of voter fraud. The Justice Department in its appeal stated that the move by the lower court “partially nullifies the Postal Service’s efforts to address the risk that the federal mails will be used to perpetrate voter fraud — a particularly pernicious species of fraud that dilutes the votes of lawful voters,” CNN reported.

Trump and Republican states supporting the administration have described the changes as limited measures intended to strengthen election security.

The dispute has already reached the Supreme Court once. Last month, the justices allowed the administration to continue working towards implementation of Trump’s executive order, although the decision was based on technical grounds and did not address the underlying legality of the order. The court’s three liberal justices dissented. Several days later, a federal court in Boston temporarily blocked the administration from implementing the USPS plan.

The administration now faces a procedural hurdle before the Supreme Court can consider the USPS regulation in detail. A lower court had blocked the rule through a temporary order that is generally not appealable. Solicitor General D. John Sauer, the administration’s top appellate lawyer, argued that the Supreme Court should nevertheless consider the emergency appeal, pointing to instances in which the high court has permitted similar appeals.

The administration has also argued that the Postal Service possesses broad authority to modify mail-delivery protocols. In its filing, the Justice Department cited previous changes involving the delivery of cremated remains and replica explosives, including dummy grenades.

Opponents of the administration’s plan argue that the Constitution places authority over the conduct of elections with the states and that Congress has not given USPS the power to oversee state mail-ballot programmes, CNN reported.

The Supreme Court has asked for a response to the administration’s emergency request by Tuesday morning, indicating that the justices are unlikely to rule on the request immediately. The case now places one of the most consequential election-related disputes before the Supreme Court as states move closer to the November midterm elections. (ANI)