US Supreme Court again urged to permit Trump vote-by-mail restrictions
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to overturn a lower-court block on a Postal Service rule restricting mail-in voting, arguing it merely sets envelope and addressee standards rather than 'federalizing' election rules. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani has twice ruled against the administration, first with a temporary restraining order and then by upholding it after Thursday's oral arguments.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer says the impending midterms justify an unusual appeal of a restraining order; North Carolina begins mailing ballots Friday. Democratic officials and voting rights groups counter that the rule oversteps USPS's authority, risks disenfranchising voters, and addresses a fraud problem the administration has never actually documented.
A whistleblower report this week detailed serious problems with the online verification tool the Postal Service plans to use to enforce the rule, which was reportedly rushed out in months instead of the year it needed. A USPS official says the portal will be available to states 'sometime next week' — an assurance offered after the hearing, not before.
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