U.S. Judge Blocks Trump’s Mail-In Voting Reform with Preliminary Injunction

 


U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a preliminary injunction on Friday blocking President Donald Trump’s reform to curtail mail-in voting ahead of the November elections.

The ruling converts a previous temporary restraining order—which had already barred the Postal Service from applying parts of the new regulation and which the Trump Administration had appealed to the Supreme Court—into a preliminary injunction, a status that now permits an appeal by the administration.

In her decision, Judge Talwani delved into the substance of the case, asserting that the Postal Service’s new rule governs explicitly and exclusively election mail. That argument directly contrasts with the Department of Justice’s reasoning, which frames the regulatory change as applicable to postal mail in general. The judge additionally underscored that Congress has never delegated to the Postal Service the authority granted under the Elections Clause.

The Department of Justice had asked the high court on Thursday to allow the USPS to enforce the new regulation, which was crafted under Trump’s executive order from March aimed at restricting mail-in voting. That presidential directive mandates that federal agencies compile the list of voters who receive ballots, effectively reducing the role of states in electoral processes.

The litigation arises from a lawsuit filed by 23 states, the District of Columbia, and Pennsylvania’s governor against the final USPS rule, alongside civil organizations that have centered their challenge on Trump’s March order.

Maintaining the suspension prevents the Postal Service from imposing the contested requirements concerning envelope formats and voter data. Under the pretext of preventing electoral fraud, Trump ordered the Department of Homeland Security to draw up lists of U.S. citizens of voting age in each of the 50 states, and directed the Postal Service to draft a separate roster of eligible voters authorized to receive ballots by mail.

Author: vmmh

Source: EFE

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