News article: Trump mail voting appeal to Supreme Court

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1WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to clear the way for an executive order from President Donald Trump that could dramatically change mail-in voting.
1WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to clear the way for an executive order from President Donald Trump that could dramatically change mail-in voting ahead of November's midterm elections.
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3The emergency appeal comes after an [appeals court upheld](https://apnews.com/article/trump-mail-voting-appeal-executive-order-8bfb1f787f84fc60f9b6b284794b18b5) a ruling blocking the [president's order](https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-mail-voting-elections-47cc334b1fb7742244a9c4f176b355cd) in nearly half the country ahead of November's midterm elections.
3The Justice Department asked the justices to halt for now [lower court](https://apnews.com/article/trump-mail-voting-appeal-executive-order-8bfb1f787f84fc60f9b6b284794b18b5) decisions blocking the [sweeping changes](https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-mail-voting-elections-47cc334b1fb7742244a9c4f176b355cd) in nearly half the country.
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5The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to allow the proposed changes to move ahead while lawsuits play out.
5The request comes shortly after Trump delivered a [primetime address](https://apnews.com/article/trump-primetime-address-elections-5c84a59dffc20c12ed2fcb822fa950c9) elevating his yearslong push to raise doubts about the legitimacy of elections, and could be one of several voting-related challenges before the court ahead of the high-stakes midterm contest.
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77Trump ordered the government in March to create a "state citizenship list" of eligible voters and deliver mail ballots only to people on that list.
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99Democratic officials in 23 states and the District of Columbia sued, saying the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to set election rules, [not the president](https://apnews.com/article/trump-mailin-voting-lawsuit-0605d78112c6a1cb8685ca0f053a79b8). Their attorneys have said Trump's proposed changes are ripe for abuse and could cause chaos.
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11A judge in Massachusetts blocked the order for the plaintiff states, and a 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld that ruling over the weekend.
11A judge in Massachusetts blocked the executive order for the plaintiff states, and a divided 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel left her ruling in place over the weekend.
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13The executive order issued in March calls for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the commissioner of the Social Security Administration to create a federal list of eligible voters. It tells the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to people on that list.
13The executive order calls for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the commissioner of the Social Security Administration to send state officials federal citizenship lists to determine eligible voters. It tells the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to people on the lists.
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15The appeal argues that Trump's order lays out "general policy guidance" and doesn't directly dictate how states run their elections.
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23"And the injunction is especially indefensible because the agencies are still deliberating over how (if at all) to implement the Order, yet the district court preemptively decided that whatever the agencies may choose to do will necessarily be unlawful," Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote.
21The order also calls for ballots to have secure envelopes with unique barcodes for tracking. Federal funding could be withheld from states and localities that don't comply.
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25He urged the high court to move quickly, arguing that any new policies would have to be in place in August to be effective for the November elections.
23The appeal argues that Trump's order lays out "general policy guidance" and doesn't directly dictate how states run their elections. Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the high court to freeze the judge's order as lawsuits play out, calling it indefensible.
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27Trump promoted the proposed changes as safeguards to keep non-U.S. citizens from voting. Noncitizen voting has been [shown to be rare](https://apnews.com/article/noncitizens-voting-republicans-election-2024-immigration-09b86e6768f755fd875f3c51b0e8ea70), and is a felony that can be punishable by deportation.
25"And the injunction is especially indefensible because the agencies are still deliberating over how (if at all) to implement the Order, yet the district court preemptively decided that whatever the agencies may choose to do will necessarily be unlawful," Sauer wrote.
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27He urged the high court to move quickly, arguing that any new policies would have to be in place as soon as August to be effective for the November elections. A response to the appeal is due Aug. 3.
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29Mail balloting has long been [a favorite target for Trump](https://apnews.com/article/f0a5b003db26dbb19778bcdcb45f9a3f), even as [he has used the method](https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-vote-by-mail-bd52fd205f4484237d5b77d2e7319350) to cast his own votes. He has blamed it for [his loss to Democrat Joe Biden](https://apnews.com/article/election-claims-biden-won-explained-bd53b14ce871412b462cb3fe2c563f18) in 2020 and has claimed without evidence that it opens the door to fraud. He returned to that theme Monday [during an appearance](https://apnews.com/article/trump-michigan-tariffs-economy-midterms-gm-7afc50b1ec74988e63880947efe0b818) at a General Motors facility in Michigan as he was making an appeal for Congress to pass his voter ID and proof-of-citizenship bill.
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31"And hopefully there will be no mail-in ballots," he said, calling them 'inherently corrupt."
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33Using mail ballots has become [increasingly popular](https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-voting-mail-ballots-drop-boxes-a92707d4805ea2701a8d795e39f83241) with voters of both parties, with about 30% of all ballots cast that way during the 2024 presidential election, according to federal data. The process also is secure. A [2025 Brookings Institution study](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/mail-voting-in-the-us-data-points-to-very-low-fraud-and-significant-benefits-to-voters/) found only about four cases of fraud out of every 10 million mail ballots cast.
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35The Supreme Court has ruled against the Trump administration before on mail-in ballots, finding in June that states can count ballots that arrive after Election Day.
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37Trump has promoted the proposed changes in his executive order as safeguards to keep non-U.S. citizens from voting. He's also repeatedly [pressed for](https://apnews.com/article/save-america-act-b6fcf12d7ef9434a1d4e788367291f60) the passage of the legislation that requires proof of citizenship to vote.
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39Noncitizen voting has been [shown to be rare](https://apnews.com/article/noncitizens-voting-republicans-election-2024-immigration-09b86e6768f755fd875f3c51b0e8ea70), and is a felony that can be punishable by deportation.
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2941U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani in Boston, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, [agreed in June](https://apnews.com/article/trump-executive-order-elections-mail-voting-b28c3425c1dc968cd0f57c61fb7a684e) to halt implementation for the Nov. 3 elections.
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43Her ruling differed from that of another federal judge based in Washington. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who was appointed by Trump, [found in May](https://apnews.com/article/trump-elections-mail-voting-executive-order-9474fae41161dc5954295ae1370bcb88) that it was too early to block the order because it had not yet been implemented.
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45The office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading the lawsuit for the states, did not immediately comment on the Trump administration's appeal. New York Attorney General Letitia James' office declined to comment.
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47The Postal Service also would not discuss its plans regarding implementing Trump's order or its rule, citing the ongoing litigation. In Kansas, Republican Secretary of State Scott Schwab's office said it has not heard from the Postal Service about plans going forward.
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51Associated Press writer John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this story.