Trump's mail voting overhaul hits a new hurdle as ballots head out

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump’s effort to overhaul mail voting is facing an implementation challenge as states begin sending ballots while his proposed rules remain blocked.

The changes would require new approvals, voter-list submissions, and technology that has not yet been deployed across jurisdictions.

Wisconsin officials began mailing ballots on Monday, while North Carolina officials sent ballots on Friday under existing state requirements, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, September 6.

States are mailing ballots under existing rules

“There’s no practical way for Wisconsin clerks to comply,” said Don Millis, chairman of Wisconsin’s elections board, as officials moved forward under current rules, as per the newspaper.

The new system would require state and local officials to submit voter lists, potentially multiple times a day, through an online Postal Service portal that has not yet been made public.

It would also require thousands of jurisdictions to obtain approval for ballot-envelope designs, the report said.

Election officials said there is not enough time to redesign and reprint envelopes if proposed designs are rejected.

Tammy Patrick, chief programs officer at the National Association of Election Officials, called making the required changes in time for this year’s election “effectively impossible” in a court filing.

Millis, a Republican who has helped oversee Wisconsin elections for years, also argued the proposed changes could affect Republican voters disproportionately. 

He said they would “hurt the Republican turnout more than the Democratic turnout.”

North Carolina has already mailed ballots to tens of thousands of voters under a state law requiring officials to promptly send ballots requested starting 60 days before an election, as per the report.

In Wisconsin, ballots do not have to be mailed until mid-September, but local officials can send them earlier, and state officials are recommending that they do, the report stated.

Trump's rules remain blocked in court

The implementation problems are unfolding alongside an ongoing legal fight. A federal judge in Massachusetts issued an injunction on Friday blocking the new postal rules for the midterm elections.

US District Judge Indira Talwani wrote that the policy “threatens disenfranchisement of millions of United States citizens who seek to vote by mail.”

The administration is seeking Supreme Court approval to put the rules into effect after the justices previously issued a ruling that gave it a temporary lifeline, the outlet reported. 

Richard Hasen, a UCLA law professor and director of the school’s Safeguarding Democracy Project, said “it is already too late” to implement Trump’s executive order.

The Postal Service said its online portal would probably become available to states this week and that its plans would ensure mail ballots “will be handled securely and delivered reliably.”

White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said the technology is “neither complex nor unique” and would help make elections “safe, transparent, and honest,” as per the outlet.

Officials prepare for ballot delivery problems

Election officials are also preparing contingency plans even though they do not expect Trump’s executive order to take effect.

Some are considering pickup locations where voters could collect ballots, while others are planning additional ballot drop boxes to give voters more ways to return them, as per the Washington Post.

Officials in Washington state have already reported concerns about rejected mail ballots.

In 19 counties, more than twice as many primary ballots were rejected this year as two years ago because of various issues, including late postmarks.

In Mason County, 258 ballots were rejected for late postmarks this year, compared with 60 during the primary two years earlier, the report said.

Wisconsin elections commissioner Ann Jacobs said officials want ballots mailed because voters need to receive them before they can return them through drop boxes or government offices.

“It’s more important that we get the ballots out because there are other ways at least to return them,” Jacobs said. “But if you can’t even get the ballots out, people can’t vote.”

New Mexico officials are taking another contingency step. 

Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said the state is talking with FedEx and UPS about delivering ballots instead of relying on the Postal Service.

“We are still planning for plan B in a worst-case scenario,” she said. “There are other ways to deliver ballots.”