DOJ asks judge to lift nationwide block on mail-in voting restrictions

The Department of Justice (DOJ) asked a federal judge in Massachusetts late Monday to lift a nationwide block on mail-in voting restrictions ahead of the November midterms.

The DOJ wrote in a late-night filing that the Supreme Court’s ruling in a separate challenge to President Trump’s executive order “leaves no room for further dispute” in the case brought by several voting rights groups.

“This is a textbook case for reconsideration,” Brett Shumate, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Division, and others wrote in the 6-page motion to Judge Indira Talwani.

The high court said earlier Monday, over the dissent of its three liberal justices, that the judge had no authority to block Trump’s directive because the new U.S. Postal Service regulations had not yet been finalized when a group of Democratic-led states initially sued .

“Federal courts review final rules, not proposed rules—and certainly not antecedent internal directives to propose a rule. If the Postal Service’s final rule harms the States, they may challenge that rule,” the court wrote.

The Justice Department argues that specific language “plainly bars” the nationwide injunction from remaining in place.

“Because it is now clear that this Court lacked jurisdiction to issue the preliminary injunction in this case, it must be vacated immediately,” officials wrote.

The lawsuits target the president’s March executive order, which directed his administration to compile a list of verified U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote and ordered the Postal Service to implement new standards for mailing ballots.

The order quickly drew challenges from nearly two dozen states, the District of Columbia and a coalition of voting rights groups, which argued the order was unlawful and threatened to disenfranchise thousands of voters.

The Postal Service has since unveiled new requirements for mail ballots. The rule is set to be published Wednesday, but the agency has said it will not implement the regulation before the November midterms unless both injunctions are lifted.

Absentee and overseas ballots are set to go out in a matter of days in some states, and voting rights groups have argued that the “fast-approaching deadline” creates complications for state election officials and voters.

“The issuance of the Final Rule with immediate effect will also sow widespread confusion among election officials and the public, thereby undermining voter confidence and disrupting the administration of elections,” the groups wrote in an emergency motion to Talwani on Saturday.