Supreme Court says Trump cannot enforce new mail-in ballot regulation

The decision means a Postal Service measure that could lead to ballots not being sent to voters won’t be in effect for this November’s midterm elections.

Casting a decisive blow against President Donald Trump’s hopes of exercising federal control over the midterm elections, the Supreme Court on Monday prevented a U.S. Postal Service regulation concerning mail-in ballots from going into effect.

The court in a brief order rejected an emergency application filed by the Trump administration seeking to block a lower court ruling that said the regulation was likely unlawful. The court appeared to be divided 7-2 with two conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, dissenting.

The measure would have imposed requirements on states for sending out mail-in ballots to voters. Typically, the Postal Service has no such role.

Implementing these significant changes just weeks before the election would likely have caused major problems and advocates feared it would make it harder for millions of Americans to cast their ballots.

Time was already running out for the rule to be implemented, with North Carolina sending out ballots on Sept. 4 and other states soon to follow. There were also questions about whether the Postal Service even had the technical means to put it into effect.

Trump frequently rails against the widespread use of mail-in ballots as part of his broader complaints, offered without evidence, that the election system is rife with fraud.

Challengers, including various states led by California and nonprofit advocacy groups headed by the League of Women Voters, say the rule would cause unnecessary disruption ahead of the election and prevent people from voting.

Under the new rule, states would have to submit a list of eligible voters to the Postal Service, which would then verify that ballots are being sent to people on that list before delivering them. States would also have to comply with directions about envelope design.

Trump’s initial order envisioned the federal government creating and sending the USPS lists of citizens and forcing the USPS to only send ballots to those individuals, but the final USPS proposal did not include that provision.

The Postal Service issued the regulation at the direction of the White House, with Trump issuing an executive order on the issue in March.

Massachusetts-based U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani blocked the regulation, saying the Postal Service had no authority to issue it.

She warned of the risk of “significant disenfranchisement” if the regulation was in effect, while noting that the Trump administration had failed to offer any evidence it was required to combat election fraud.

Various states have said they would not be able to comply with the regulation even if it is in effect, although some have indicated they can. A whistleblower complaint last week said the Postal Service system for checking ballots is flawed and could cause significant disruptions if implemented.

Talwani said that while litigation continues states can voluntarily comply with the Postal Service regulation but have no obligation to do so. She also said that the Postal Service cannot refuse to send ballots.

The federal government has downplayed the impact of the regulation, saying in court papers it is a “modest design and information requirements for ballot-mail envelopes.” When states send out ballots, the Postal Service will check to see that the envelopes are in compliance and if they are not, they will be returned to election officials, Trump administration lawyers said.

Trump issued his executive order after he failed to persuade the Republican-controlled Congress to pass his SAVE America Act legislation that would impose new voting restrictions nationwide, including proof of citizenship to register to vote and voter ID.

Talwani had earlier blocked key provisions of the executive order itself, but in an Aug. 24 ruling the Supreme Court ruled she had acted prematurely.