The United States Supreme Court voted 6-3 on Monday to allow Donald Trump's executive order tightening mail-in voting rules to take effect for now, the latest turn in a standoff over American election rules.
The order, signed by Trump on March 31, had been blocked by a federal district court after Democratic-led states challenged it. Without ruling on the merits of the case, the Supreme Court's conservative majority found that the block caused harm to the federal government, unlike the states contesting the order.
Limited scope of the ruling
The court said the decision does not mean that any measure the government takes to enforce the order will necessarily be legal, adding that time would tell on that question. The court's three liberal justices dissented, arguing that states, which run elections including federal ones, are directly affected by the changes to voting rules.
The dispute is far from settled. The Supreme Court did not decide whether Trump's order is lawful, only that it can be enforced while litigation continues.
A federal voter list
Trump's order calls for immigration and Social Security agencies to create a federal list of voters eligible to cast a ballot. Under the order, the Postal Service could only deliver mail-in ballots to people on that list.
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States and has the final say on disputes over the constitutionality of federal laws and executive actions. Its current bench includes a conservative majority, which has repeatedly sided with the Trump administration in emergency applications this year.
Trump ties the order to 2020
Trump and Republicans have presented the restrictions as a way to stop non-citizens from voting in American elections, though official statistics show such cases are extremely rare. Trump regularly criticizes mail-in voting and continues to link it to his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, a result he still refuses to accept.
Mail-in voting is not absent from Trump's own practices, however. He voted by mail in the Republican primary held in Florida last week, even as his administration now seeks to tighten federal restrictions on the method.
What comes next
The Supreme Court's order allows Trump's voting restrictions to stand only until further notice, with the broader legal challenge from Democratic-led states still pending. The case is set to continue working through the courts, which will ultimately decide whether the federal voter list and related measures are constitutional.
