News article: Trump mail voting appeal to Supreme Court

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1WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to clear the way for an executive order from President Donald Trump that could dramatically change mail-in voting.
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3The emergency appeal comes after an [appeals court upheld](https://apnews.com/article/trump-mail-voting-appeal-executive-order-8bfb1f787f84fc60f9b6b284794b18b5) a ruling blocking the [president's order](https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-mail-voting-elections-47cc334b1fb7742244a9c4f176b355cd) in nearly half the country ahead of November's midterm elections.
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5The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to allow the proposed changes to move ahead while lawsuits play out.
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7Trump ordered the government in March to create a "state citizenship list" of eligible voters and deliver mail ballots only to people on that list.
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9Democratic officials in 23 states and the District of Columbia sued, saying the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to set election rules, [not the president](https://apnews.com/article/trump-mailin-voting-lawsuit-0605d78112c6a1cb8685ca0f053a79b8). Their attorneys have said Trump's proposed changes are ripe for abuse and could cause chaos.
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11A judge in Massachusetts blocked the order for the plaintiff states, and a 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld that ruling over the weekend.
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13The executive order issued in March calls for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the commissioner of the Social Security Administration to create a federal list of eligible voters. It tells the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to people on that list.
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15The appeal argues that Trump's order lays out "general policy guidance" and doesn't directly dictate how states run their elections.
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23"And the injunction is especially indefensible because the agencies are still deliberating over how (if at all) to implement the Order, yet the district court preemptively decided that whatever the agencies may choose to do will necessarily be unlawful," Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote.
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25He urged the high court to move quickly, arguing that any new policies would have to be in place in August to be effective for the November elections.
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27Trump promoted the proposed changes as safeguards to keep non-U.S. citizens from voting. Noncitizen voting has been [shown to be rare](https://apnews.com/article/noncitizens-voting-republicans-election-2024-immigration-09b86e6768f755fd875f3c51b0e8ea70), and is a felony that can be punishable by deportation.
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29U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani in Boston, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, [agreed in June](https://apnews.com/article/trump-executive-order-elections-mail-voting-b28c3425c1dc968cd0f57c61fb7a684e) to halt implementation for the Nov. 3 elections.