By Luc Cohen
Sept 4 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow it to enforce a new U.S. Postal Service rule tightening the use of mail-in ballots, leaving states in limbo as to whether they will be required to implement it for the November 3 midterm elections.
The uncertainty has taken on new urgency as deadlines approach for U.S. states to send out mail ballots ahead of the midterms, with Trump's Republicans defending narrow majorities in both
chambers of Congress. North Carolina was expected to send out its ballots on Friday, the first state to do so.
Below is an explanation of what the rule does, where the court cases stand and what could come next.
WHAT DOES THE NEW RULE DO?
Trump signed an executive order in March requiring states to supply the U.S. Postal Service with lists of mail ballot recipients, and to place unique barcodes on all outbound and return ballot envelopes.
The order requires USPS to deliver ballots only to voters on each state's approved mail-in ballot list.
Trump has long cast doubt on the security of mail-in ballots and has asserted, falsely, that his loss in the 2020 presidential election was due to widespread fraud.
Trump himself has regularly voted by mail.
Democratic Party officials say their supporters would be disproportionately affected by the restrictions because Democrats are more likely to vote by mail than Republicans, and say the measures risked disenfranchising eligible voters.
Thirty-seven percent of Democrats voted by mail in the 2024 election, compared to 24% of Republicans, according to the MIT Election Data + Science Lab.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE COURTS?
The executive order drew legal challenges from Democratic Party officials, Democratic-led states and voting rights groups. The lawsuits said the USPS had no authority to reject mail ballots and that Trump's executive order trampled on the individual states' authority, granted by the U.S. Constitution, to administer elections.
Boston-based U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani on June 25 blocked implementation of the executive order in the Democratic-led states that had sued, and on August 11 effectively expanded that order by preventing USPS from implementing its new rule nationwide.
The U.S. Supreme Court last month voided Talwani's June order because the states had brought their challenge before the USPS released its finalized rule detailing how it would implement the executive order. The top court, where conservative justices hold a 6-3 majority, left the door open for the states to sue again.
The states and the groups then renewed their challenges, arguing that the issuing of a finalized USPS rule on August 22 meant the case was ripe for adjudication. Talwani again blocked the USPS from implementing the rule.
On Thursday, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to overturn Talwani's latest order. The move was unusual, as the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had yet to rule on the Justice Department's challenge to Talwani's decision.
The Democratic Party has separately challenged the rule in Washington, D.C., federal court.
WHAT WILL STATES' ELECTION OFFICIALS DO?
Many state election officials have been vocal in saying at this point they would be unable to overhaul their systems in time to comply with the USPS rule before the midterms.
An online portal that states would use to upload their lists is not yet active, and numerous state election offices already have their envelopes and ballots printed.
Sam Hayes, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, told reporters on Thursday that county election officials would mail out ballots on Friday as expected. Hayes said the USPS had already approved the design of the state's ballot envelopes.
"We're watching to see what the courts do. If anything changes, we will be in compliance," Hayes said.
HOW IS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION RESPONDING?
The Justice Department has said in court filings that the USPS has the authority to implement the rule, and said the decisions about who is eligible to vote would still be up to the states.
It has also dismissed states' concerns that the new rule would cause confusion and chaos close to the election, noting that USPS would help state election officials comply with the rule.
The USPS has meanwhile moved forward with building the online portal, according to a whistleblower complaint made public by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, this week. The whistleblower said design flaws in the system could result in the USPS wrongly refusing to mail out ballots to eligible voters.
In a court filing on Thursday, a USPS official said the service was continuing to refine the portal, and said that it may be available for states that wish to use it voluntarily next week.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New YorkAdditional reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston and David Shepardson in Washington;Editing by Noeleen Walder and Howard Goller)
