WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is appealing a judge’s ruling that blocked limitations on mail voting before the midterm elections, the latest twist in a court fight unfolding days before the first states begin sending out mail ballots for the pivotal November elections.The notice of appeal filed Friday comes after a federal judge in Boston handed down a new decision blocking implementation of an executive order from President Donald Trump for the next two weeks.The Supreme Court previously allowed the plan to move ahead on procedural grounds, but hasn’t decided whether it’s legal. The U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals will next consider the case, though it could soon be back before the nation’s highest court. Under Trump’s executive order, the U.S. Postal Service could refuse to deliver ballots from states that do not submit lists of eligible voters and follow a uniform envelope style. The White House calls the plan a set of “commonsense measures” aimed at protecting ballot security, and calls the order blocking it “unreasoned and unlawful.”
The plaintiffs didn’t have immediate comment on the appeal. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani found that states don’t have the time or money to design and produce new ballots, update their systems and train officials to upload voter data to the Postal Service in the short time before the midterm elections.
