US Supreme Court removes judicial decision blocking Trump's mail-in ballot restrictions

The US Supreme Court lifted a judicial decision blocking President Donald Trump's administration from implementing an executive order restricting mail-in ballots ahead of the November midterm elections. The 6-3 conservative majority granted a Justice Department emergency request to put on hold a June injunction from a Boston-based judge. However, a separate August 11 injunction blocking a key part of the plan nationwide remains in place, leaving the order's fate uncertain. The ruling applies to a coalition of 23 states and Washington, DC that had sued to stop the directive, but voting-rights groups secured a separate nationwide injunction that remains active.

The US Supreme Court on Monday lifted a judicial decision blocking President Donald Trump's administration from implementing his executive order to restrict the use of mail-in ballots ahead of the November midterm elections that will decide control of Congress. The ruling from the Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority applied to a June injunction from Boston-based US District Judge Indira Talwani. The justices granted a Justice Department emergency request to put on hold an injunction that prevented the Republican president from proceeding with his directive in a coalition of 23 mostly Democratic-governed states and Washington, DC that had sued to stop it. However, the court did not act on another injunction issued by Talwani on August 11 that blocked the US Postal Service nationwide from enforcing the directive's tighter rules for voting by mail. That order was issued in a separate lawsuit filed by several voting-rights groups. Trump's executive order, issued in March, directed the Department of Homeland Security to compile and transmit to the states a list of US citizens eligible to vote in each state, and the Justice Department to prioritize investigating and prosecuting state and local election officials who issue ballots to people deemed "not eligible" to vote in federal elections. It also required the US Postal Service to deliver ballots only to voters on each state's approved mail-in ballot list. In June, Talwani ruled that the president lacked the authority to order changes in how states administer federal elections, noting that under the US Constitution, states have the role of determining voter-eligibility requirements. The article notes that restricting mail-in ballots would stand to disproportionately benefit Republicans given that Democratic voters traditionally have been more likely to use mail-in ballots than Republican voters.