The U.S. Supreme Court has dealt a setback to the Trump administration’s push to overhaul mail-in voting rules just weeks before the November midterm election, a decision that drew swift praise from California officials who had fought the changes in court.
The high court ruled Monday that new U.S. Postal Service regulations aimed at restricting mail ballots cannot take effect before the Nov. 3 election. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing in concurrence, stopped short of saying the postal service lacks authority to impose such rules altogether, but he warned that rolling them out now would be “arbitrary and capricious” given how little time states and local election officials would have to adjust.
California was among the states that challenged the postal service rules, building on an earlier legal fight over a Trump executive order targeting mail-in voting. The state relies on a universal vote-by-mail system, automatically sending ballots to every registered voter.
Gov. Gavin Newsom welcomed the ruling as a win for voters heading into the fall election.
“Finally, 50 days out, and the American people have certainty when it comes to our country’s electoral process: Voting is safe, vote-by-mail is accessible to any and all who need it,” Newsom said. “And I encourage every Californian to make their voice heard this November.”
At the heart of the dispute is a Trump administration proposal to build a federal database of registered voters, which the postal service would use to verify eligibility before delivering mail ballots. Under the plan, the agency could have refused to deliver ballots in any state that declined to share its voter information.
California election officials have said the state’s existing ballot procedures already satisfy many of the technical requirements the administration sought, including the use of scannable bar codes on return envelopes. Other states, however, faced the prospect of scrambling to redesign ballots and election procedures on short notice had the rules been allowed to move forward.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the outcome of the case carried enormous weight.
“Had this rule been allowed to take effect, the consequences would have been catastrophic,” Bonta said.
California counties are set to begin mailing ballots to voters no later than the first week of October, giving residents ample time to cast their votes ahead of Election Day.
Original source: CalMatters
