Judge Lifts Pause on Mail Ballot Rules

A federal judge dissolved her nationwide pause on Trump's mail-ballot rules as 24 states refiled.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani on Wednesday lifted her nationwide preliminary injunction that had blocked the Trump administration from implementing its executive order overhauling mail-in voting, according to the Jefferson City News-Tribune. She wrote she was 'compelled by the Supreme Court's ruling' to dissolve the order, while suggesting she might have reached a different result had plaintiffs been able to present their arguments after the new rule. At the same time, Democratic officials in 24 states plus the District of Columbia and a coalition of voting rights groups refiled lawsuits challenging the newly final U.S. Postal Service regulation.

Instead, the conservative majority said states had sued too early because there was no enforceable final rule, per the Central Oregon Daily report. That changed late last week when USPS issued a final rule on Aug. 21, which voting rights groups said 'now makes concrete what Defendants previously called speculative.' The new filings updated the procedural history so the challenge targets an actual final rule, reopening the case the high court had dismissed as premature.

The final rule requires states to turn over a list of eligible mail voters, redesign ballot envelopes with Postal Service approval, and include new tracking barcodes. Under Trump's order, USPS would not deliver ballots to voters not confirmed in a federal database the administration wants to build, nor to states that do not comply, the Times of San Diego reports. California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the rules a 'clear violation of the Constitution,' which designates states as the primary authority over elections. According to the Times of San Diego, more than 89% of California voters used mail-in ballots in the latest June primary.

The whipsawing legal fight lands less than three months before the Nov. 3 midterms, when mail ballots must already be going out. The Jefferson City News-Tribune reports the states argue they would have to scramble to overhaul vote-by-mail systems in that window. Colorado Politics reports that nearly one-third of Americans vote by mail, and that Talwani wrote states 'have neither time nor funds' to design new ballots, get approval, order production, and train officials before the election. Colorado says ballots still go to all active registered voters starting Oct. 2.

The states' complaint contends the president and USPS have virtually no constitutional role in election administration, arguing that whether a qualified voter may vote by mail is a question of state law and that Congress has not afforded USPS authority to set rules for federal elections. The states also point to Trump's long opposition to mail voting, quoting his statements that it would 'LEAD TO THE END OF OUR GREAT REPUBLICAN PARTY' and that he aims to 'get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS,' per the Jefferson City News-Tribune. Bonta told reporters, 'President Trump doesn't get to rewrite our voting system on a whim.'

Talwani set a fast briefing schedule in both cases, with the final brief on a request for a new temporary injunction due Aug. 31, according to the Jefferson City News-Tribune, which notes a decision is likely to be appealed. Colorado Politics reports a hearing is set for Sept. 3. The White House defended the order as election security, with spokeswoman Lauren Bis calling the Supreme Court ruling 'a major win for the security of American elections.' Colorado officials vowed to keep fighting, with Attorney General Phil Weiser saying the state's mail ballot system 'is secure, accessible, and works.'