Trump administration asks to restrict mail-in voting as judge warns millions could lose their vote

The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let it enforce new restrictions on mail-in voting in November’s legislative elections, despite a federal judge’s warning that the changes could leave millions unable to vote.

The request seeks to temporarily suspend a ruling issued Friday by Judge Indira Talwani. She blocked a U.S. Postal Service regulation requiring state and local election authorities to submit ballot-envelope designs in advance and record the names, addresses and barcodes of voters who would receive the ballots.

Talwani said the changes could create confusion because they would take effect less than 70 days before the Nov. 3 elections. States, she found, lacked the time and resources to redesign envelopes, obtain approval, update their systems, train election staff and collect voter data before the elections.

She also said the administration had not presented evidence of widespread mail-in voting fraud that would justify putting the regulation into effect urgently. The restrictions stem from an executive order Trump signed on March 31 to change how federal elections are conducted, an area traditionally organized by the states.

This is the administration’s third appeal to the Supreme Court over the issue. In an earlier decision, the court rejected another Talwani ruling because the postal regulation had not yet received final approval, without addressing its legality. The latest request arrives as North Carolina has already begun mailing ballots for the midterm elections, which will renew all 435 House seats and one-third of the Senate.