Trump's mail-ballot restriction dream runs into another court roadblock ahead of midterms
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump's efforts to restrict mail-in ballots before the midterms this fall have met with another roadblock. A federal appeals court on Thursday, September 10, upheld a block on the Trump administration's restrictions on mail-in voting, as the Supreme Court considers the case.
The US Postal Service recently implemented the presidential executive order by launching a US Federal Ballot Mail Portal, which functions as a digital clearinghouse and requires states to upload voter lists to receive mail-in ballots.
Appeals court upholds block on mail-in ballot restriction
Three judges on the US Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit agreed with US District Judge Indira Talwani, who last week blocked the US Postal Service from implementing President Trump’s executive order on mail-in ballots ahead of the November midterms.
Despite having voted by mail himself, the president has long claimed the practice is rife with fraud. In blocking Trump’s order on September 4, Talwani wrote there was “no evidence relating to fraudulent mail voting” to support the implementation of the Postal Service’s directive.
Judges Seth Aframe, Gustavo Gelpí Jr and Julie Rikelman of the 1st Circuit Court agreed with that assessment, writing, “There is no record evidence of past fraud or a likelihood of impending fraud related to” the upcoming midterms.
“Thus, we see no obvious error in the district court’s conclusion that allowing this Final Rule to be effective for the soon-arriving November 3 election will likely result in the disenfranchisement of millions of voters across the country while providing minimal — if any — gains in combating voter fraud,” the judges, all appointees of former President Biden, wrote in a nine-page order.
Mail-in ballot legal drama timeline
Former President Barack Obama appointee Indira Talwani has blocked Trump’s order three times during litigation.
The Supreme Court dismissed Talwani’s initial decision on Aug 24, ruling that she had no authority to rule on a suit Democratic-led states brought against the order before the Postal Service implemented it.
Days later, Talwani stopped the administration from moving forward with mail-in ballot restrictions for two weeks.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) on September 3 asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on Talwani’s two-week block.
Before the justices could rule on the DOJ’s request, Talwani blocked the Postal Service from implementing the president’s order for a third time on Friday. That led to Solicitor General D John Sauer sending an updated request to the Supreme Court on September 5.
In a 40-page emergency application, Sauer argued the administration is likely to succeed on the merits of the cases concerning the policy.
“The Rule ensures that States remain responsible for determining voter eligibility and eligibility to vote by mail, and it does not dictate ballot content, mailing or receipt deadlines, or ballot-counting procedures,” he wrote.
