Trump Asks Supreme Court To Federally Approve Ballot Recipients

Justices are weighing President Donald Trump’s emergency request to revive mail-ballot restrictions allowing the federal government to compile approved-voter lists and instruct the Postal Service to deliver ballots only to citizens Washington recognizes as electorally useful. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani blocked the plan before the November 3 midterms, relying on the obsolete constitutional theory that states administer elections and eligible voters are generally permitted to participate in them.

The administration praised the proposal as a major expansion of voting freedom, particularly for Americans who would be liberated from the paperwork, decision-making and dangerous civic temptation caused by receiving a ballot. “For years, people have had ballots arriving at their homes, and suddenly they’re expected to vote, which is a tremendous burden,” Trump said. “We will make sure the right ballots go to the right people, meaning the people our government very strongly remembers to approve.” Officials said rejected voters would retain every constitutional right except the inconvenient one requiring the government to mail them election materials.

Under the streamlined system, states would continue performing ceremonial election duties, including printing “I Voted” stickers and arranging flags behind podiums, while federal officials handled the substantive task of deciding which residents are sufficiently American for postal purposes. The White House said the national list would restore confidence by replacing inconsistent local eligibility rules with one dependable standard: whether the president’s administration feels comfortable sending someone a ballot. Citizens omitted from the list could appeal by proving their identity, address, citizenship, party registration, social-media temperament and willingness to describe the omission as an innocent clerical error.

Supporters said the restrictions would eliminate uncertainty because voters would no longer need to wonder whether their ballots were counted. Anyone who received no ballot could conclude immediately that the system had already considered their political opinion and processed it at the distribution stage. The Supreme Court must now choose between election chaos and an orderly federal process in which the outcome becomes more manageable as the electorate becomes smaller. A secure election is one in which Washington chooses the voters before voters choose Washington.

* None of the quotes in this article were spoken by an actual person. More info.