US President Donald Trump had issued an executive order imposing strict regulations on mail-in voting. The US Supreme Court has rejected this move ahead of the midterm elections. On Monday, the Court upheld a lower court’s stay on the new Postal Service restrictions. This dealt a blow to Trump’s efforts to limit voting rights leading up to the election. Al Jazeera Online reported this news.
The Postal Service issued new policies following Trump’s executive order last March. These policies required states to submit voter lists in advance and mandated the use of specific, approved envelopes. The Postal Service was granted the authority to invalidate ballots that failed to meet these criteria.
District Judge Indira Talwani issued a stay on the order, deeming it unconstitutional. The administration subsequently filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court. However, the apex court indicated that the administration had little chance of winning the case. Although Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, Justice Brett Kavanaugh—a Trump appointee—sided with the majority.
Critics argued that these restrictions would have infringed upon the rights of many ordinary voters. Ballot distribution has already commenced in Alabama and North Carolina. Despite Trump’s frequent claims of fraud regarding mail-in voting, he himself had cast his vote via mail in the 2020 election.
