Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Sep 15: The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to allow the US Postal Service (USPS) to enforce a new rule targeting mail-in ballots, dealing a setback to President Donald Trump's efforts to tighten voting-by-mail rules ahead of the November midterm elections.
The justices rejected the Justice Department's request to lift an order by Boston-based US District Judge Indira Talwani, who had blocked the Postal Service from implementing the measure while legal challenges by states and voting-rights groups continue.
The USPS adopted the rule following Trump's March executive order seeking tighter regulations on mail voting. In a brief one-paragraph order, the Supreme Court said the government was unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to Talwani's preliminary injunction.
Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, dissented from the decision. No other justice publicly dissented. The Supreme Court currently has a 6-3 conservative majority.
Under the disputed rule, states would have been required to provide the Postal Service with lists of mail-ballot recipients and use agency-approved outbound and return envelopes equipped with unique barcodes. The USPS could then refuse to send ballots that did not meet the new standards or were linked to voters absent from the lists.
Critics have warned that the requirements could disrupt the delivery of thousands of legitimate ballots and create confusion as states prepare to send mail ballots to eligible voters ahead of the November 3 election. The administration has argued that the measure would help prevent voter fraud, although documented cases of widespread mail-ballot fraud are rare.
Judge Talwani issued the injunction on September 4, finding that the rule likely violated the US Constitution, which gives states authority over the administration of elections. She also said states would not have sufficient time to implement the requirements before the approaching midterm elections.
A second federal judge, Carl Nichols of the US District Court in Washington, D.C., also ruled against the rule on Sunday.
Sophia Lin Lakin, voting rights project director at the American Civil Liberties Union, welcomed Monday's Supreme Court decision, arguing that election rules are governed by the Constitution and federal law rather than presidential preference or Postal Service policy.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, whose state led one of the lawsuits challenging the rule, also welcomed the decision and described it as a positive development for democracy and the rule of law.
Trump issued his executive order targeting mail-in ballots after years of questioning their security, although he has also voted by mail. He has repeatedly made false claims of widespread fraud in US elections, including regarding his 2020 defeat by former Democratic President Joe Biden.
The administration had asked the Supreme Court in an emergency filing on September 6 to allow implementation of what it described as an important federal policy to protect the postal system from being used for voter fraud.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a concurring statement, said there was a "fair prospect" that the rule fell within the Postal Service's authority. However, he agreed that state and local election officials did not have enough time to reasonably implement the requirements before the 2026 elections.
Alito, in his dissent, argued that the challengers' claims were unlikely to succeed and said the Postal Service has broad authority to regulate the mail.
A coalition of states, most of them governed by Democrats, along with Washington, D.C., and several voting-rights organisations, has challenged the USPS rule.
The 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday had also refused to suspend Talwani's injunction. The appeals court said the rule could potentially disenfranchise millions of voters while producing little, if any, benefit in preventing voter fraud.
The dispute over mail ballots is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to increase federal involvement in election administration ahead of the midterms. On August 24, the Supreme Court had lifted an earlier injunction imposed by Talwani in June that had blocked Trump's executive order, including the USPS rule before it was finalised.