Judge clears obstacle to Trump's mail-in voting order
The decision by District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston came two days after the Supreme Court issued a procedural ruling in favor of the Republican president in a related case.
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A federal judge on Wednesday lifted one of the main legal obstacles to President Donald Trump's case that seeks to restrict mail-in voting, while several Democratic-led states filed a new lawsuit challenging the measures. This comes just weeks before the midterm elections.
The decision by District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston came two days after the Supreme Court issued a procedural ruling in Trump's favor in a related case. According to Associated Press (AP), this new chapter in the dispute could bring the matter back before the Supreme Court before the election, for which the first mail-in ballots will begin to be sent out next week.
Talwani agreed to lift an order that prevented the U.S. Postal Service from implementing Trump's executive order for the November election. The judge explained that she was "compelled" to do so after the Supreme Court majority ruled that a similar preliminary injunction she had issued in another case was premature.
However, Talwani sharply criticized the presidential measure. The judge warned that the executive order could cause "chaos" and called it "likely unconstitutional."
What changes with this decision?
The regulation stipulates that states must use a uniform envelope format for mail-in ballots and provide the Postal Service with a list of voters eligible to receive those ballots.
Meanwhile, the legal battle is not over. Nearly two dozen Democratic-controlled states filed a new lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Service.
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