23 States Ask Supreme Court to Keep Trump Mail-Vote Order Blocked for November
Updated
Updated · SCOTUSblog · Aug 4
23 States Ask Supreme Court to Keep Trump Mail-Vote Order Blocked for November
3 articles · Updated · SCOTUSblog · Aug 4
Summary
A coalition of 23 states and Washington, D.C., told the Supreme Court to leave intact a lower-court order barring enforcement of key parts of Trump’s March 31 mail-voting order in their November elections.
The states said lifting the injunction would let the federal government rush an "unprecedented" voter-verification and ballot-interception program, including DHS citizenship lists, DOJ scrutiny of local officials, and USPS screening of ballots against enrolled-voter lists.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani blocked those provisions only through Nov. 3 in the challenger states, finding the coming midterms create a direct and immediate dilemma even if claims about later elections are not yet ripe.
The 1st Circuit refused to pause that ruling, saying the order’s timelines already force states to act now, while the federal government and 12 Republican-led states argue the dispute is premature because agencies have not finalized implementation.
The filing sharpens a broader Supreme Court fight over how far Washington can shape mail voting before the midterms, with challengers arguing the Constitution leaves voter eligibility and election administration primarily to the states.