In the legal dispute over stricter rules for postal voting, President Donald Trump’s government has again appealed to the Supreme Court. She asked the court to suspend a lower court decision that has so far prevented her from implementing the new rules. Less than two months before the important midterm elections, the Trump administration is asking the US Supreme Court to make a quick decision with its urgent application. In the state of North Carolina, the first postal voting documents are scheduled to be sent out this Friday.
The Supreme Court had previously overturned another injunction against Trump’s plans – albeit for procedural reasons. He did not decide on the legality of the project.
The new rules essentially stipulate that the US Postal Service (USPS) will play a central role in controlling postal voting. States should submit the design of their envelopes for postal voting to the post office for approval. In addition, the postal service should only deliver the documents to citizens who are listed on a voter register provided by the states.
Judge: Trump’s plans probably unconstitutional
Republicans defend the plans with the argument that they want to prevent alleged election fraud. Critics suspect that Trump’s motive is that he wants to make voting by mail more difficult and thus disadvantage Democratic voters.
A federal judge stopped Trump’s plans last week with an injunction. The president’s order is “a likely unconstitutional regulation that is virtually impossible to comply with in light of the 2026 midterm elections,” she wrote. It is also unrealistic to implement it so shortly before the election.
On November 3rd, around a third of the Senate and the entire House of Representatives will be re-elected in the “midterms”. Because of the narrow majority of Republicans in both chambers of parliament, each individual mandate could decide who ultimately has power in Congress.