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President Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to revive key parts of his executive order overhauling mail-in voting after lower courts blocked the policy in 23 states and Washington, D.C.
The administration filed an emergency appeal Monday asking the justices to allow enforcement of the March order while the broader legal fight continues. The order directs federal agencies to create state-by-state lists of eligible mail voters and would prevent the U.S. Postal Service from delivering ballots to people not included on those lists.
The appeal comes just days after the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to lift a lower court injunction, leaving the order on hold in the states that sued. The appeals court agreed those states were likely to succeed in arguing that the president lacks the authority to unilaterally change how federal elections are administered.
White House asks justices to step in
Now the justices are being asked to step in, with administration lawyers saying the directive provides policy guidance rather than immediately changing election procedures and arguing the injunction improperly blocks agencies from carrying out that work.
The administration also says the Supreme Court should act quickly if any changes are to take effect before November’s midterm elections.
The states challenging the order argue the Constitution gives states and Congress, not the president, the authority to set election rules. They also say allowing the order to move forward now would disrupt election preparations already underway for the midterms.
The Supreme Court has ordered the states to respond by Aug. 3, signaling the justices could move quickly on the request.
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