Kumar Bahukhandi
US President Donald Trump (File image)
Court keeps restrictions on hold for November elections; Trump calls ruling “horrible” and “highly political”
Key Highlights: The Supreme Court has kept the Trump administration’s proposed mail-ballot restrictions on hold for the November 3 midterms; Alito and Thomas dissented; Kavanaugh cited the limited time available to election officials; and Trump publicly attacked the ruling and criticised the court following the setback.
Washington, DC: US President Donald Trump has sharply criticised the Supreme Court after it declined to revive his administration’s proposed restrictions on mail-in voting ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.
The court on Monday rejected the administration’s request to lift a lower-court order preventing the US Postal Service from enforcing new requirements for mail-in ballots during the upcoming elections. The brief order left the restrictions blocked while litigation continues. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, concurring with the decision, indicated that the rule could potentially survive legal scrutiny in the longer term but said state and local election officials did not have sufficient time to reasonably implement it before the elections.
Trump Turns Fire on the Court
Trump responded on Truth Social with unusually strong criticism of the institution and its decision.
“The Supreme Court has really let our Country down!” Trump wrote, describing the ruling as “horrible” and “highly political.” He also praised Alito and Thomas for dissenting.
Trump appointed three members of the current court — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — during his first presidential term. In his response, he complained that the justices he had selected were no longer the people he had interviewed for the court.
The disputed rules stem from Trump’s effort to tighten federal requirements surrounding postal ballots. The Postal Service rule would have required states to provide voter-specific information and use approved ballot-mail envelopes with barcode tracking. Democratic-led states and voting-rights groups challenged the measures in court.
Attorney General Todd Blanche said the administration disagreed with the Supreme Court but would comply with its decision.
