The president of the United States, Donald Trump, asked the Supreme Court to authorize the application of a new rule that makes the use of ballots sent by mail more rigorous. The appeal happened after a federal judge temporarily suspended the rule before the November legislative elections. The Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court to overturn the decision of Judge Indira Talwani, from Boston, who temporarily prevents USPS from applying the new rule, adopted after a Trump decree to restrict mail voting.
The new USPS rule would impose new requirements for specific voter data and for ballot envelopes, in addition to allowing the possible refusal of delivery of non-compliant ballots. Under the rule, states must provide the postal service with lists of voters who will receive ballots and use envelopes equipped with exclusive barcodes. Critics claim this could compromise thousands of legitimate votes on the eve of the November 3 midterm elections.
This is the second time the government has appealed to the Supreme Court. On August 24, the court overturned a previous injunction imposed by Talwani, considering that an alliance of states, mostly governed by Democrats, had filed the lawsuit too early. The decision was sustained by the conservative majority of 6 votes to 3, while the three most left-leaning judges dissented. Talwani issued on August 27 a new 14-day temporary decision, concluding that the rule likely violates the Constitution, which states that it is up to the states to administer elections.
Trump, who signed the decree against mail voting in March, has questioned the security of this modality for years, although evidence of electoral fraud in the USA is rare. Republicans are fighting fiercely to maintain control of Congress, and opponents say that restrictions on mail voting would tend to disproportionately benefit the situation, since traditionally Democratic voters are more likely to use the modality. An alliance of states mostly governed by Democrats, in addition to voting rights advocacy groups, challenged the rule.
