States renew fight against Trump's mail-in voting rule
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A coalition of states is again seeking to block President Trump's sweeping Postal Service rule on mail-in voting, just days after the Supreme Court lifted a lower court's injunction against his executive order.
The big picture: The Supreme Court's decision essentially said the states sued too early. Now, they're hoping the timing is right to kneecap the plan ahead of the midterms.
- The ruling didn't weigh the merits of Trump's order, which critics warn would expand federal power over state-run elections.
Driving the news: The complaint, brought by 24 attorneys general and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, challenges the U.S. Postal Services' final rule outlining the implementation of Trump's mail-in voting provisions.
- The states argue that the rule "violates the Constitution and federal statutes many times over" and that they'll have to redesign ballot envelopes and build new systems to transmit voter lists to USPS with just weeks to comply.
- "If not stayed or preliminarily enjoined, the Rule will frustrate or outright prevent Plaintiff States from administering their mail voting programs in November and foreseeably disenfranchise voters who vote by mail," the complaint filed in Massachusetts reads.
- The White House did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Zoom out: Democrats and advocacy groups — joined by Madison, Wisconsin, and Travis County, Texas — also revived their challenges Tuesday ahead of the Postal Service's final rule's publication.
- A judge initially decided the Washington, D.C., lawsuit brought by Democrats was premature, finding — like the Supreme Court's majority — the challengers could not yet prove harm.
- But they now argue in their proposed complaint that USPS' final rule "will profoundly and unlawfully disrupt mail voting in every state.
Catch up quick: The Supreme Court on Monday cleared a block on parts of the March executive order.
- The executive order calls for "State Citizenship List[s]" of eligible voters, and a proposed U.S. Postal Service rule says it won't transmit mail ballots for people not on a state list.
- An unsigned opinion found the states sued before suffering any injury. The government, the court said, would face "irreparable harm" if the lower court order continued to sideline Trump's plan.
- But it left the door open to future lawsuits. "If the Postal Service's final rule harms the States, they may challenge that rule" when the time comes, the opinion said.
Zoom in: USPS' final rule, which landed on the Federal Register Wednesday, mandates specific ballot-envelope designs and says the Postal Service will generate state-specific mail-in voting participation lists.
- The Postal Service's rule said it would not implement the rule without relief from the injunctions.
Friction point: The renewed challenge and ongoing litigation are playing out on a tight timeline, as several states are set to issue mail-in ballots in September, leaving little time to hammer out the proposed regulations.
- U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani of Massachusetts also issued a nationwide block on Trump's mail-in voting restrictions in August. It remains in place, but the administration has since asked for its removal, citing the Supreme Court's decision.
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warned in her Aug. 24 dissent that green-lighting the administration's order on the grounds that the states' challenge came too early "needlessly injects chaos and uncertainty into the upcoming midterm elections."
Go deeper: Trump's mail-in voting rules raise fears of federal overreach
Editor's note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
