A federal appeals court has delivered a major setback to the Trump administration’s effort to impose new restrictions on mail-in voting, ruling that the controversial changes are likely unlawful as the legal battle continues.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld a lower-court injunction preventing the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing the new requirements ahead of the November midterm elections.
The court found that the administration’s rules could interfere with the authority of states to administer elections and potentially disenfranchise voters.
The dispute centers on changes stemming from President Donald Trump’s executive order on election administration.
Among other requirements, the administration sought to have states provide USPS with lists of people receiving mail ballots and implement specific barcode requirements on ballot envelopes.
Under the proposed system, USPS could refuse to deliver ballots that failed to meet the new federal requirements, raising concerns among election officials about delays and rejected ballots.
The administration has defended the measures as necessary to strengthen election security and prevent fraud. Officials have argued that the federal government has a legitimate interest in ensuring the integrity of federal elections.
Opponents see the issue very differently.
Democratic-led states, voting-rights organizations and other challengers argue that the president does not have unilateral authority to rewrite state election procedures.
They contend that election administration is largely controlled by states and that imposing new requirements so close to an election could create confusion and disenfranchise eligible voters.
The appeals court's decision is particularly significant because mail ballots are already being distributed in some states. Election officials have warned that implementing major new requirements at this stage could create logistical problems and make it harder for voters to successfully return their ballots.
The legal fight, however, is far from over.
The Trump administration has already taken the dispute to the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking permission to implement the restrictions.
The Supreme Court previously allowed parts of the administration's plan to move forward temporarily on procedural grounds, but the underlying constitutional questions remain unresolved.
That leaves the future of the mail-voting rules uncertain as the country approaches the November elections.
The case could ultimately become a major test of how much authority the president and federal agencies have over election procedures traditionally administered by individual states. With control of Congress at stake, any last-minute changes to mail voting could have consequences for election officials and voters across the country.
For now, the appeals court ruling keeps the administration's new USPS requirements from taking effect while the broader legal battle continues.
And with ballots already moving in some states, the Supreme Court could soon have the final word.
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