The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to clear the way for a sweeping executive order that would place major new restrictions on mail-in voting for November’s midterm elections.
Read more Tim Walz is keeping silent on Minnesota primary. Gwen Walz is not.
A divided panel of a Massachusetts-based appeals court last week upheld a federal judge’s block on the order, finding that it would “sow confusion” and “threaten disenfranchisement of many eligible voters.” Judges appointed by Joe Biden and George W. Bush voted for the block, while a Trump appointee voted against it.
The appeal to the high court is part of a high-stakes push by President Donald Trump and his allies to put fresh limits on voting ahead of the pivotal elections where control of both the House and the Senate is at stake. Trump claims that voting irregularities are widespread, despite a lack of evidence.
The president has been pressing the Senate to pass the Save America Act, which would require voters to prove their citizenship to register and to show photo identification when voting. He also gave a prime-time television address in mid-July reiterating debunked claims about vulnerabilities in election systems, and he fired members of a bipartisan elections commission.
Trump has long made false claims that mail-in voting is rife with fraud and has blamed it, in part, for his loss to Biden in the 2020 presidential election. He unsuccessfully demanded that the counting of mail-in ballots be suspended in that contest.
Read more McConnell not medically cleared to leave rehab yet, Capitol physician says
In March, Trump issued an executive order that required states to compile lists of eligible voters based on information provided by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.
The order prohibits the Postal Service from sending mail-in ballots to anyone not on the lists. It also requires that mail-in ballots be delivered to voters in secure envelopes with barcodes to facilitate tracking. The order allows the federal government to withhold funding from states that don’t comply.
“The cheating on mail-in voting is legendary,” Trump said during a signing ceremony for the order. “I think this will help a lot with elections.”
Nearly two dozen states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration soon after the order was issued, arguing that it was unconstitutional and its true goal was voter suppression. They said the lists were likely to miss many eligible voters.
Read more Pentagon relabels U.S. casualties caused by Iran amid scrutiny of wartime transparency
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
