The U.S. Supreme Court has granted preliminary approval to President Donald Trump's order to restrict mail-in voting ahead of the November midterm elections. On Monday, the high court lifted a stay previously imposed by a district court, allowing parts of the directive signed in March to move forward.
The Supreme Court did not rule on the legality of the order. Instead, the court stated it was too early for Democratic-run states to challenge the order in June, which was when they had convinced a federal judge in Boston to freeze the directive. Following the Supreme Court's decision, a federal judge allowed the mail-in ballots plan to proceed, canceling a nationwide ruling that had blocked U.S. Postal Service work on the order.
This development creates a tangle of new legal and logistical questions for states as they prepare to make ballots available. The ruling has thrown into uncertainty the voting method used by nearly one-third of the country, although it may not lead to a single procedural change during the November midterms.
This ruling is not the final word in the fast-moving legal fight over the administration’s efforts to change voting rules before the midterms, and a new block may come soon.