LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The Supreme Court has rejected President Trump's push for new mail-in voting restrictions before the midterms. This new ruling brings some closure to a legal fight that was threatening to disrupt voting by mail, voting that has already started in several states. In a social media post, Trump called the court's decision a, quote, "big loss for republicans," even though voters who cast ballots by mail span the political spectrum. NPR's Hansi Lo Wang has been tracking the court action and joins us now. Good morning, Hansi.
HANSI LO WANG, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: So what does this new Supreme Court ruling say?
WANG: This ruling helps solidify the rules of mail-in voting for the midterm general election. You know, last month, there was an earlier Supreme Court ruling. That was about a procedural question. But now we have some finality because this new ruling basically says a plan the U.S. Postal Service came up with to respond to an executive order by President Trump is still blocked.
That plan included new mail-in ballot requirements that states would've had to follow in order to get their ballots delivered by USPS. But a federal judge in Boston found those requirements are likely illegal because USPS has no authority to impose them on states. And this new Supreme Court order rejects the Trump administration's request to pause the judge's ruling. And I should note, USPS is a financial supporter of NPR.
FADEL: So the upshot for voters is that the status quo continues for mail-in voting?
WANG: That's right. This ruling means the Postal Service is expected to keep delivering ballots as usual. Voting by mail has already begun in some states like Alabama, North Carolina and Wisconsin. And more states are set to use USPS to mail out their ballots as planned.
FADEL: Do we have a sense of how the justices voted individually on this ruling?
WANG: There was a dissenting opinion from two conservative justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. But conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the court's majority in this ruling. And although Kavanagh voted to keep the USPS plan blocked, he wrote that he believes there's, quote, "at least a fair prospect" that USPS does have legal authority to carry out this plan. But Kavanagh says the Postal Service just doesn't have enough time to do that for the midterms without violating federal law.
FADEL: To Justice Kavanaugh's point, was it even possible for election officials and USPS to make these changes to mail-in voting for the midterms?
WANG: You know, that has been a big question looming over this legal fight. And for months, many legal experts and election experts have said it is too late to put in place these new mail-in ballot requirements. They said it was too late when President Trump put out this executive order back in March. And they said it was certainly too late when USPS finally put out its plan last month, just over a week before the first mail-in ballots for the general election went out. And on top of that, there was a whistleblower report we've talked about.
And it claimed that the online system election officials would've needed to use to follow these new ballot requirements has not been properly tested and was set up in a way that could've led to many eligible voters not getting their ballots in time or at all. And it's still not clear if that online system would've been ready to be used if the Supreme Court had ruled in the administration's favor. So there was a real risk of major disruptions and potentially even disabled voters and voters in places without polling sites losing the ability to exercise their right to vote. But, again, that is not happening right now because this USPS plan is blocked for the midterms.
FADEL: Is there another takeaway for mail-in voters?
WANG: Well, there's been a lot of headlines coming out of this legal fight. But the bottom line now is, mail-in voting is still available to all eligible voters. USPS is expected to continue delivering ballots as usual. And if you're eligible to vote by mail in your state, your ballot may be on its way to you very soon, if not already. And if you need to request a ballot, it's a good time to check your state's deadline for getting in those requests. And as always, election officials recommend returning your completed ballot as soon as possible.
FADEL: That's NPR's Hansi Lo Wang. Hansi, thank you.
WANG: You're welcome, Leila. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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