As President Donald Trump’s effort to restrict mail-in voting has bounced between the courts this week, the result has been whiplash among voters and officials. State and local election officials have been watching closely as provisions that govern mail ballots become unlawful and then lawful and then unlawful again in a matter of days. Now, they are trying to figure out how to comply with a law that has become a bit of a moving target.
For about a day, the mail-in ballot restrictions remained in effect after the Supreme Court cleared a key hurdle to Trump’s mail ballot executive order on Monday. Then on Wednesday, a federal judge who had issued a similar injunction was pressured to remove a separate block on the order.
Those moves prompted two new legal challenges Wednesday from a coalition of Democratic states and voting rights groups, respectively. The new lawsuits specifically target the new United States Postal Service rule, issued last Friday, that governs who may receive mail ballots. Late Thursday night, a federal judge again granted their request and again blocked a key provision of Trump’s plan until at least Sept. 10.
With that court ruling, it’s back to business as usual — but even that could change again as soon as the clock continues to tick on state deadlines. North Carolina sends its first wave of absentee ballots Sept. 4. Officials there are in crunch mode, working to meet that deadline as they do every election.
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