The Trump administration filed an emergency request with the U.S. Supreme Court on Sunday, asking justices to immediately clear the way for new Postal Service rules on mail-in ballots ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
The court filing follows a Friday ruling by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, who extended a temporary block on the administration’s regulations. Talwani ruled that the rules are likely unlawful and put her order in place indefinitely unless a higher court steps in.
The legal fight centers on an executive order from President Donald Trump that seeks to change how mail-in ballots are handled nationwide. Under the proposed rules, states would have to send voter lists to the U.S. Postal Service. Each mail ballot would also require a specific barcode linking the voter’s name and address. Postal workers would then deliver ballots only to individuals on the state-provided list.
The administration argued in its latest filing that the guidelines impose only “modest” requirements on states and described the voter data requirement as neither onerous nor intrusive.
However, opponents argue the rules violate the U.S. Constitution. Judge Talwani concluded that the requirements intrude on powers reserved for Congress and the states under the Elections Clause. Enforcing them so close to the election “threatens disenfranchisement of millions of United States citizens who seek to vote by mail,” she wrote.
Talwani also noted that with voting near, the potential harm to voters and states is no longer hypothetical.
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The challenge was brought by dozens of Democratic state attorneys general and voter advocacy groups. They contend the administration is trying to take control of election processes that belong to state governments, ultimately making it harder for people to vote. Trump has frequently pointed to mail-in voting with unproven claims of widespread fraud.
The Supreme Court had already been considering a challenge to Talwani’s earlier temporary order. The judge’s previous block was set to expire on Sept. 10 before she extended it.
Time remains short as several states have already started sending out mail-in ballots to voters. The Supreme Court set a deadline of Tuesday at 10 a.m. for the state officials challenging the rules to file their official response. A decision from the high court could come this week.
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