U.S. Solicitor General's Supreme Court Brief Omits Harms of USPS Mail Ballot Rule
The U.S. Solicitor General's reply brief to the Supreme Court, concerning a lower court injunction against a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) rule on mail ballots, conspicuously omits any discussion of the potential harms to states, voters, or election integrity. According to the Election Law Blog, the brief dedicates a section to the harms the government is allegedly suffering but provides no corresponding account of the detrimental impacts on other stakeholders if the USPS rule were to be applied in the upcoming election. This silence is notable, especially since a preliminary injunction was issued based on extensive evidence from election officials detailing these harms. The USPS itself, during its rulemaking procedure, also failed to acknowledge the severe consequences of states' inability to comply with the rule, nor did it justify its application to the ongoing election. State plaintiffs argue that these failures render the USPS's choice of the rule's effective date arbitrary and capricious, a point the So...
