Less than half of Republican state attorneys general join legal defense of Trump's mail-voting order
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Only 12 of the 27 Republican attorneys general have filed an amicus brief supporting the Trump administration's mail-voting restrictions, while Democratic officials continue to seek a court injunction.
A group of twelve Republican state attorneys general filed an amicus brief opposing a request by Democratic-led states and voting-rights groups for a preliminary injunction against President Donald Trump’s recent order limiting mail-in voting and the accompanying U.S. Postal Service rule. The attorneys general from Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas argued that the new requirements constitute only modest mailing conditions that improve election security.
The filing leaves fifteen Republican attorneys general—representing Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming—absent from the defense. Requests for comment from those offices received no response, and officials in Utah and Tennessee declined to comment.
Democratic attorneys general, joined by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, have filed a separate lawsuit asserting that the Postal Service rule would impede the administration of mail-voting programs and could disenfranchise voters. > "will frustrate or outright prevent Plaintiff States from administering their mail voting programs in November and foreseeably disenfranchise voters who vote by mail," the filing states.
U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani in Massachusetts issued a 14-day temporary restraining order and is scheduled to hear arguments on the preliminary injunction request on September 3.