Trump administration petitions Supreme Court to overturn injunction on mail-ballot tracking rule
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The Justice Department filed a petition with the Supreme Court seeking to lift a district court order that blocks a new Postal Service rule requiring states to use an online portal for mail-ballot verification, as states prepare to begin absentee voting for the November election.
The Justice Department on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to reverse a temporary restraining order issued by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani that bars the Postal Service from enforcing a rule that would require states to upload voter lists to an online portal before mailing ballots. The administration argues that the rule, issued under an executive order last spring, is authorized by statute and that the district court lacks authority to halt its implementation.
During a hearing in Boston, Judge Talwani questioned DOJ attorney Michael Velchik about the readiness of the Postal Service to operate the portal, noting that she had not received any official declaration from the agency describing how the system would work. "As you sit here today, you can't tell me the government has a program ready to go?" she asked.
Velchik responded that the Postal Service would "fully implement the rule" and focused on whether the district court had the legal power to stop it, asking, "The $64,000 question is, is this authorized by the statute?"
The judge is considering whether to extend her order, which currently bars the Postal Service from requiring use of the portal through Sept. 10. North Carolina is slated to begin mailing all requested absentee ballots on Friday, with other states expected to follow.
The Supreme Court set a Sept. 8 deadline for the plaintiffs to file arguments, meaning any decision could come early next week. The administration’s appeal follows a Supreme Court ruling that Talwani’s earlier injunction was premature because the Postal Service had not yet issued regulations governing the rule.
John Sauer, the solicitor general for the administration, wrote in the appeal that while states have primary authority over election procedures, they cannot claim exemption from the Postal Service’s rulemaking authority granted by Congress.
Velchik told the judge that no state has yet opted into the system, and none of the 12 states that intervened in the lawsuit have announced participation. Missouri Solicitor General Lou Capozzi defended the project, stating there is no risk of disenfranchisement.
A recent whistleblower report warned that the rule could cause large numbers of ballots to be rejected if a single barcode error occurs, potentially preventing millions of mail ballots from being sent.