Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow mail ballot restrictions to move forward for a third time

The Trump administration Sunday asked the Supreme Court to temporarily allow the U.S. Postal Service to exert some control over mail-in voting in the upcoming midterm elections, just two days after a federal judge blocked the USPS from doing so.

It’s the third time the Trump administration has escalated the matter to the Supreme Court, as North Carolina last week became the first state to begin sending mail-in ballots to voters less than 60 days before the midterm elections.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued an order preventing the administration from carrying out the Trump-directed USPS regulation on mail-in ballots.

The directive is the president’s latest attempt to impose new forms of federal control over elections, which are typically run by states.

It would allow the USPS to track mail-in ballots and potentially reject ballots that are sent to and from voters not included in a federal database.

This application to the court comes after Talwani issued a preliminary block on enforcing the USPS rule, saying it’s likely unlawful and unconstitutional for the federal government to dictate how mail-in ballots are handled.

In her order Friday, Talwani also cited the rushed nature of the rule, writing that the…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business