Trump Takes Mail Voting to Supreme Court for Third Time

The Trump administration on Sunday renewed its appeal to the Supreme Court after a federal judge blocked new restrictions on mail ballots ahead of the midterms. The filing was made two days after US District Judge Indira Talwani extended an order against the Postal Service enforcing President Trump's executive order for the November elections, the AP reports. States are sending out mail ballots, leaving little time to make changes in mail ballot rules. "Ballots have already begun to be mailed in North Carolina, and more States will begin the mailing process as the injunction remains in place," Solicitor General John Sauer said in Sunday's filing.

"Once those ballot envelopes enter the mailstream, there is no retrieving them. And while the injunction allows the Postal Service and the States to continue taking steps to ensure that their envelopes satisfy the Rule's requirements ... each day the injunction is in place risks sowing confusion and chaos because the injunction makes those preparatory steps voluntary, rather than mandatory," Sauer added. The appeal marks the third time the administration has asked the high court to intervene. The justices have allowed the plan to move forward but not ruled on whether it is legal. Democratic states and voting rights groups say the changes are unconstitutional. Nearly one-third of voters in the US cast mail ballots.