On Friday, a federal judge extended her ban on the US Postal Service from carrying out Donald Trump’s executive order that aims to restrict mail-in voting during the midterm elections. This adds another significant hurdle for the administration as states begin distributing mail ballots.
The preliminary injunction issued by US district court judge Indira Talwani replaces a temporary order she had previously granted to block the USPS plan.
The Trump administration has already requested that the Supreme Court lift Talwani’s temporary order and is expected to appeal her most recent ruling as well.
However, time is running out for the administration to implement major changes to voting procedures. North Carolina started sending out its first mail ballots on Friday, with other states likely to follow quickly.
This legal dispute could have significant consequences for this year’s elections, where control of Congress hangs in the balance. Almost one-third of voters in the US utilize mail ballots, and election officials argue there isn’t enough time to adjust their systems according to new postal service guidelines.
Talwani, appointed by Barack Obama, highlighted the urgency in her ruling.
“Plaintiff states are required under state law to mail millions of ballots to voters on a prescribed timeframe. As detailed below, they are unable to pivot this late in the election cycle, nearly guaranteeing significant disenfranchisement for eligible voters,” she wrote.
The White House did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
The order permits states to voluntarily adopt the new system; however, no state has announced plans to do so yet.
Trump has consistently aimed at limiting mail voting despite often using it himself when casting his own ballot. He has wrongly attributed his 2020 election loss to mail balloting while spreading unfounded claims of fraud but hasn’t managed to alter existing voting procedures thus far.
An initial executive order issued by Trump last year sought changes in election rules, including a mandate for individuals to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote. This was stopped by federal judges who ruled that only states and sometimes Congress have authority over voting procedures-not the president.
Following Trump’s executive order regarding mail voting in March, Democrats and voting rights organizations launched several lawsuits. Two cases were brought before Talwani, who initially imposed a hold on the order back in June until after November’s elections.
However, last month, the Supreme Court reversed that decision. The conservative majority didn’t declare Trump’s action illegal but decided that lawsuits had been filed too early before USPS released its regulations about how it would carry out the order. The rule was just prior to when the Supreme Court delivered its ruling and led plaintiffs to refile their cases.
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