Trump administration assails ‘baseless’ block on mail voting rule in final plea to Supreme Court

The Justice Department called a federal judge’s block on key parts of President Donald Trump’s anti-mail voting executive order “baseless” as it seeks to put the restrictions in place before Election Day.

“Every day that the district court’s injunction remains in place, more ballots are being sent through the U.S. Mail without the benefits that the Rule provides for election integrity,” U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer wrote in a brief filed on Thursday.

Despite the administration’s claim that new Postal Service requirements regarding mail ballots promote election security, it has repeatedly failed to provide the courts any proof of widespread fraud. Around 47 million Americans voted by mail in the last federal election.

The lack of evidence was highlighted by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani when she issued her preliminary injunction last week, and in an order from the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals denying the administration’s appeal.

In its brief to the Supreme Court, the Justice Department doubled down on its stated goal of eliminating fraud “regardless of whether voter fraud is common or uncommon.”

“Respondents’ contention to the contrary—that the Rule is not necessary to safeguard election integrity because USPS found it served important interests even if voter fraud is uncommon, cannot be squared with this Court’s repeated recognition that the government can and should take steps to protect against both fraud itself and the perception of fraud, which undermines confidence in elections,” Sauer wrote.

Pro-voter groups and Democratic attorneys general challenging the administration told the Supreme Court on Wednesday the rule is an unconstitutional federal takeover over elections –which are administered by states under the Constitution – and practically impossible to implement so close to an election.

The Justice Department argued that the Postal Service rule, ordered by Trump in March, is a “lawful exercise” of the agency’s statutory authority to regulate the mail.

“This Court should swiftly stay the district court’s baseless injunction barring the Postal Service from fully enforcing the Rule’s modest envelope-design and addressee-information requirements for federal-election ballot mail,” Sauer wrote. “Those requirements are a straightforward exercise of the Postal Service’s ordinary authority to adopt mail-preparation rules designed to ensure that mail (especially sensitive mail) is properly delivered to the intended recipient.”

A decision from the Supreme Court could come at any time.