Trump administration asks Supreme Court to revive mail-voting restrictions
The emergency appeal seeks authority for the Postal Service to track mail-in ballots and assess whether they may be rejected before November’s midterm elections.
The Trump administration has again asked the US Supreme Court to temporarily allow new restrictions on mail-in voting, escalating a legal dispute over the federal government’s role in handling ballots before November’s midterm elections.
The emergency appeal, filed on Sunday, came two days after US District Judge Indira Talwani blocked the policy, finding that the directives were likely unconstitutional and could threaten the voting rights of millions of postal voters.
The administration is seeking authority for the US Postal Service to track mail-in ballots and assess whether they may be rejected. Solicitor General John Sauer argued the measures impose only modest requirements relating to envelopes and addressee information, while states would remain responsible for voter eligibility, ballot content, deadlines and counting.
US elections, including federal contests, are administered by individual states. The dispute comes as some states have begun sending postal ballots, with control of Congress at stake in November.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has set Wednesday as the deadline for responses. The filing marks the administration’s third request for Supreme Court intervention; the court previously allowed the plan to proceed temporarily without ruling on whether it was lawful.
The policy has been opposed by those who say it could threaten voting rights and is politically motivated. Al Jazeera reported that an analysis by the States United Democracy Center found that one in four registered Democrats and one in five registered Republicans voted by mail in the 2024 presidential election.
