President Trump’s administration returned to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, asking the justices to clear the way for full enforcement of his executive order tightening mail-in voting rules ahead of November’s midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress.
The Justice Department filed an emergency request seeking to halt a ruling issued Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston. That decision prevents the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing nationwide provisions of the executive order that impose stricter requirements on voting by mail.
President Trump signed the executive order in March after repeatedly advocating for tighter limits on mail-in voting. He has maintained for years that widespread voter fraud influenced the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Judge Talwani’s latest ruling broadened an earlier injunction she issued in June, which had blocked enforcement of the executive order in 23 mostly Democrat-led states and Washington, D.C. Those states had challenged the order, arguing that it violates the Constitution.
The administration has already asked the Supreme Court to overturn the June injunction. In Wednesday’s filing, the Justice Department requested that the justices also clarify that any ruling in the administration’s favor would apply to Talwani’s more recent nationwide order.
Government attorneys argued that the lawsuits should not have been allowed to proceed because federal agencies have not yet taken any final actions directly affecting the plaintiffs. As a result, they contend that the alleged injuries are hypothetical rather than actual.
Among other provisions, President Trump’s executive order instructs the Department of Homeland Security to compile and provide states with lists of U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote. It also directs the Justice Department to prioritize investigations and prosecutions of state and local election officials who issue ballots to individuals considered “not eligible” to vote in federal elections.
The order further requires the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail-in ballots only to voters who appear on each state’s approved absentee ballot list. The Postal Service recently began taking steps to implement those directives.
In explaining her decision to block enforcement, Judge Talwani wrote Tuesday that the executive branch lacks the constitutional authority to regulate elections, emphasizing that responsibility rests with the individual states under the U.S. Constitution.
