The U.S. Supreme Court on Aug. 24 ruled that President Donald Trump may—for the time being—enforce his executive order restricting voting by mail ahead of the November midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.
The executive order requires federal agencies to develop state-by-state lists of verified U.S. citizens of voting age. It directs the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to begin the process of creating new government regulations about how mail-in and absentee ballots are handled, publish the proposed regulations to allow for public comment, and eventually publish the final, binding regulations.
The executive order forbids the postal service from sending mail ballots to anyone not on the verified citizen lists. It also requires the USPS to impose new envelope design and barcode standards for election mail.
A federal district court had blocked the executive order’s enforcement in the 23 states and in the nation’s capital. The new Supreme Court ruling stays that lower court order while the litigation plays out.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.