By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
WASHINGTON (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.
The Justice Department asked the justices to halt for now lower court decisions blocking work to implement the sweeping changes in nearly half the country.
The request comes shortly after Trump delivered a primetime address 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.
Trump ordered the government in March to create a “state citizenship list” of eligible voters and deliver mail ballots only to people on that list.
Democratic 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. Their attorneys have said Trump’s proposed changes are ripe for abuse and could cause chaos.
A judge in Massachusetts blocked the order for the plaintiff states, and a divided 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel left her ruling in place over the weekend.
The 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.
The 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.
The 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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“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.
He 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.
Trump promoted the proposed changes as safeguards to keep non-U.S. citizens from voting. Noncitizen voting has been shown to be rare, and is a felony that can be punishable by deportation.
U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani in Boston, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, agreed in June to halt implementation for the Nov. 3 elections.
Her 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 it was too early to block the order because it had not yet been implemented.
The office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading the lawsuit, did not immediately comment on the Trump administration’s appeal. New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office declined to comment.
The Postal Service also would not discuss its plans regarding implementing Trump’s order or its rule, citing the ongoing litigation. In Kansas, Secretary of State Scott Schwab’s office said it has not yet heard from the Postal Service about plans going forward.
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Associated Press writer John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this story.
