President Donald Trump is taking his push to overhaul mail-in voting to the nation’s highest court.
The administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to let it move forward with a March executive order that would create a federal list of eligible mail-in voters and bar the Postal Service from sending ballots to people not on that list.
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Lower courts have blocked the order in the 23 states and D.C. that sued, saying states are likely to succeed in arguing that the president lacks authority to change how elections are run.
And earlier this week, as Straight Arrow previously reported, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said state and local officials, not the executive branch, are responsible for running federal elections.
White House looks to the Supreme Court
Now the justices are being asked to step in, with the administration arguing the order is only policy guidance while federal agencies continue working out the details.
The appeal comes just days after Trump used a prime-time address to renew his claims that the election system needs stronger safeguards against fraud.
The states challenging the order say the changes could disrupt preparations for November’s midterms, while the administration says any new rules would need to be in place soon to have an impact this fall.
The Supreme Court has ordered the states to respond by Aug. 3, setting up what could become one of the most significant election cases before the midterms.