Trump administration urges Supreme Court to allow order targeting mail-in voting before midterms - AP News

What the report says

The Associated Press reports that the Trump administration on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to temporarily revive an executive order aimed at changing mail-in voting procedures before the November midterm elections. The Justice Department wants the justices to pause lower-court rulings that have blocked the order across nearly half the country while litigation continues.

According to AP, President Donald Trump’s March order directs federal agencies to help create a “state citizenship list” for voter eligibility checks and instructs the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to people appearing on those lists. It also seeks secure ballot envelopes with unique barcodes and raises the possibility of withholding federal funds from state and local governments that do not comply.

Democratic officials from 23 states and the District of Columbia sued, arguing that election administration authority rests with states and Congress, not the president. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston blocked the order for the suing states, and a divided 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel left that decision in place. Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the Supreme Court the order is policy guidance rather than a direct command to states, and said any changes would need to be set soon to affect the midterms. A response is due Aug. 3.

AP noted that Trump has long criticized mail voting and again called for restrictions while speaking in Michigan, despite having used mail ballots himself. The case matters because it could shape voting rules close to a national election and may be one of several election-related disputes reaching the Supreme Court this cycle.