The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has granted President Donald Trump a win in his effort to restrict mail-in voting.
The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has granted President Donald Trump a win in his effort to restrict mail-in voting.
On Monday, the SCOTUS put on hold a federal judge’s June injunction that had blocked the order’s enforcement in Washington, 22 other states, and Washington, D.C. Now, not only does a question of legality loom, but also the way our midterm election is conducted in just 70 days.
The Ruling
The SCOTUS decision comes months after President Trump first signed his executive order at the end of March. The order, in part, told states to send voter data to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and ordered that the U.S. Postal Service only mail ballots to people on that list.
The SCOTUS is now allowing that portion to take effect as court battles across the country go on, as it believes the order does not infringe on the states' rights to make election rules.
Part of the ruling document said "...the (executive) Order itself does not harm the States, so the District Court lacked jurisdiction to bar the Government from trying to implement it."
It goes on to say that the injunction is "likely to irreparably harm the government" if it stays in place as this plays out in court.
While the executive order is allowed to take effect now, the question of legality still looms.
On the matter, the high court wrote, "The Court’s disposition of this application does not mean that any measure taken by the Government to implement the Order will necessarily be lawful. On that score, time will tell."
What it means in Washington
Leaders in Washington state are reacting strongly to the court's decision.
"There's been a lot of hysterical overreaction to this ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court," Chair of the Washington State GOP Jim Walsh said.
"Well, obviously, it's disappointing," Secretary of State Steve Hobbs (D-Washington) said.
With only 70 days until the election on November 3, and 52 until ballots are sent out on October 16, Hobbs said he worries that last-minute changes will be difficult.
"The thing that is most damaging in this rule is the fact that the return envelope that you put the ballot in is not acceptable, according to the U.S. Postal Service," Hobbs said. "So, we would have to quickly turn around and create a new ballot. I don't think that can be done by October 16, so we'd probably ask them for a waiver or a variance."
Hobbs said though the state has been vote-by-mail only for decades now, it is prepared to pivot if needed.
"The good news is — is all of our election centers in every county are available for people to vote in-person," Hobbs said. "And at your own home you can actually print a ballot, sign it, and put it in a ballot drop box."
But Walsh said, from where he stands, the solution is simple: comply with the federal government's request for voter data.
"What the Supreme Court ruling does is it puts more pressure on the state of Washington to cooperate with the U.S. Department of Justice in sharing the registered voter data," Walsh said. "It's not really a matter of privacy. What most people suspect is the state of Washington has done a poor job of updating and cleaning up its list of registered voters."
He said state does not have a choice but figuring out how to respond and make sure Washingtonians get to cast their ballot this fall.
"I'm worried that what (Hobbs, Gov. Bob Ferguson and AG Nick Brown) will do is claim, 'well, there's no way we can comply, we need lawsuits,'" Walsh said. "And that's kind of the lazy way to go about it. It would be better to comply with the U.S. Department of Justice's already in place request for sharing the information on registered voters."
Walsh added that "there should be no problems complying" within the next 70 days, "or with even fewer."
