A federal appeals court refused to allow the administration of US President Donald Trump to enforce in 23 states an executive order tightening the rules for mail-in voting, ahead of the November midterm elections for the renewal of Congress.
The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston rejected the administration's request to lift the injunctions secured by several Democratic-controlled states on June 25, when lower court judge Indira Talwani ruled that parts of the presidential order were unconstitutional. The Justice Department appealed that decision, arguing that because government agencies have not yet completed their actions to implement the order, any challenge to it is premature.
The appeals court, in a 2-1 vote, rejected that argument.
In its reasoning, it stated that the order "sets a clear series of deadlines, which are fast approaching, within which states must coordinate their actions with federal officials and comply with the new voting procedures, while also ensuring that their own officials and citizens understand the full set of rules governing the upcoming elections. The appellant states had no practical choice but to react (to the order) now."
Before Talwani's decision, a federal judge in Washington had rejected a similar attempt by Democrats to block the order on similar grounds. The Justice Department warned that if the 1st Circuit does not rule in its favor, it will be forced to seek intervention from the Supreme Court.
Trump signed the executive order in March, after years of calling for stricter rules on mail-in voting and claiming that his defeat in the 2020 election was the result of voter fraud. Under the US Constitution, states are responsible for administering federal elections.
This order was added to other efforts by Trump to change the way elections are conducted. Courts blocked a previous order requiring proof of citizenship from voters to register and imposing restrictions on counting mail-in ballots.
Under the March order, the Department of Homeland Security was to compile and transmit to states a list of US citizens eligible to vote in each, drawing on citizenship and naturalization records and other federal databases. The US Postal Service (USPS) was also required to deliver ballots only to voters included on each state's approved mail-in ballot list. USPS recently took steps to comply with this order.
Additionally, the president ordered the US Department of Justice to prioritize prosecuting state and local election officials who give ballots to people deemed "ineligible."
However, Talwani ruled that the president does not have the authority to order the Department of Homeland Security to compile voter lists, nor is USPS authorized to adopt binding regulations on mail-in voting.
The judge, who was appointed by Democratic president Barack Obama, stated that Trump is not entitled through his order "to intimidate local election officials into using the necessarily incomplete lists of verified citizenship in order to avoid criminal prosecution."
