Federal judge blocks Trump administration mail-in voting restrictions
by Darryl Coote · UPIAug. 28 (UPI) -- A federal court judge Thursday night barred the Trump administration from enforcing mail-in voting restrictions, ruling in favor of voting rights groups and more than two dozen Democratic-led states as November's midterm elections near.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Massachusetts issued a 14-day temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of key aspects of a rule that authorizes the U.S. Postal Service to screen outbound mail-in ballots for compliance with envelope standards and verify that recipients have been entered on their state's USPS Mail-IIn and Absentee Participation list.
In her ruling, the Barack Obama-appointee said the late-adopted rule is likely to cause "substantial confusion" among states attempting to implement it ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. She also said the plaintiffs face irreparable harm and significant risk of disenfranchisement ahead of the Nov. 3 elections due to time constraints in implementing the rule.
Compliance by the midterm elections is "practically impossible," she said, adding that most states have already ordered their mail ballots and some are required by state law to send them to eligible voters as early as next week.
"Plaintiff states have neither time nor funds to design new mail ballots, seek approval of the new designs, order production of mail ballots, update their own election management systems, train election officials to use the USPS portal and upload citizen data to the portal, all before the midterms," she said.
"If plaintiff states are unable to comply with the Final Rule, an outcome that seems unavoidable given the timeframe, they will violate their obligations under the Constitution and state laws to administer elections."
The Trump administration is expected to appeal.
President Donald Trump has become increasingly focused on the midterm elections and has warned Republicans that losing the House to Democrats could lead to his impeachment as well as investigations. The Trump administration has implemented a slew of actions it says are intended to address election integrity issues while Democrats and critics say they are efforts to rig the midterms.
Mail-in ballots have long been a target of Trump's criticism despite him using it to cast his own use of mail-in voting to cast ballots. In late March, he signed an executive order expanding federal control over mail-in ballots, including authorizing the USPS not to send them to voters unless certain conditions are met.
Litigation followed.
On Monday, the Supreme Court lifted an injunction blocking Trump's mail-voting executive order, ruling that the states' challenge to the Postal Service provisions was premature as the agency had yet to issue a final rule. After the Trump administration published the final rule on Wednesday, 24 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia sued, seeking an injunction, which was granted Thursday as Talwani considers their request for a longer preliminary injunction.
"We welcome the court's order, which recognized the immediate need to protect the entire electorate from the damaging impacts of this unlawful final rule in the lead up to November's general elections," the plaintiffs, including the League of Women Voters, which filed the original lawsuit, said in a statement.
"This is an important step toward affirming the public's confidence in the system of mail ballots, which thousands of eligible voters nationwide rely on as a core method of democratic participation."
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President Donald Trump looks on as Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks during a back-to school event in the Rose Garden of the White House on Monday. The event focused on education and the Trump administration’s education policies. Photo by Will Oliver/UPI | License Photo