The US Supreme Court has handed President Trump a major pre-midterm victory by pausing a block on his mail-in voting executive order.
President Donald Trump scored a significant Supreme Court victory Monday as states across the country prepare for the November midterm elections. The decision removes a major legal obstacle that had prevented the administration from moving forward with portions of Trump's election-related executive order in nearly half the country. The Supreme Court paused a federal judge's injunction blocking the Trump administration from implementing provisions of Trump's March executive order affecting mail-in voting in 23 states and the District of Columbia. The 10-page unsigned opinion allows the administration to begin moving forward while litigation over the legality of Trump's directives continues.
The dispute involves three provisions designed to strengthen citizenship verification and procedures surrounding mail-in ballots. The first directs the Department of Homeland Security to create lists of adult U.S. citizens in each state and provide them to states at least 60 days before a federal election. Another directs the attorney general to prioritize investigations and potential prosecutions of state and local officials who issue federal ballots to individuals ineligible to vote. The third directs the U.S. Postal Service to develop rules involving lists of voters receiving mail ballots and restrictions on mailing ballots to individuals not included on enrolled-voter lists.