The US Postal Service said on Thursday that new rules governing mail-in voting are now in effect following an executive order issued by Trump earlier in the year. The order requires the postal service to refrain from delivering ballots to registered voters deemed ineligible when compared against records maintained by the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies.
The postal service posted a final rule on ballot delivery on Friday and announced Thursday that implementation would begin immediately, applying to ballots for November’s midterm elections. The changes are expected to trigger a new round of legal challenges from opponents who argue the measures exceed the executive branch’s authority over elections.
A US district judge had previously issued a nationwide block on the implementation, but the US Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the injunction should be lifted, at least pending the postal service’s implementation of the rule. The Supreme Court’s decision was procedural in nature and did not address the legality or constitutionality of the underlying policy. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, US District Judge Indira Talwani lifted her nationwide block on Wednesday.
Two dozen states and the District of Columbia filed a fresh lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to block the executive order. The states argued that the postal service policy represents part of a broader effort to alter federal election law and override state and congressional authority. Constitutional authority over elections is conferred to the states and Congress rather than the executive, according to the Constitution.
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