Judge Allows Eligible Voters To Keep Voting

American democracy suffered a procedural setback Friday when U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled that eligible voters may continue receiving mail ballots without first completing President Donald Trump’s proposed federal obstacle course. Talwani extended a block through Election Day against Postal Service rules requiring states to redesign ballot envelopes, upload recipient lists to a federal portal and rebuild election systems after voting had effectively begun. North Carolina started mailing ballots Friday, declining to pause the democratic process while Washington searched the federal supply closet for additional paperwork.

The ruling threatens a foundational American compromise: Voting must remain easy enough to celebrate in speeches and difficult enough to prevent inconvenient participation. Nearly one-third of Americans vote by mail, an alarming indication that citizens have discovered a practical way to take part in their government without losing wages, locating distant polling places or standing beneath fluorescent lights for six hours. Election officials warned that imposing sweeping requirements weeks before the November 3 midterms could disenfranchise lawful voters, apparently overlooking that disenfranchisement is the government’s most visible proof that election security is hard at work.

Trump defended the restrictions in his customary role as the nation’s foremost expert on ballots that contain votes. “These mail ballots are very dangerous because they arrive quietly, they do not salute the president, and sometimes they contain votes for people who were not supposed to win,” Trump said. “A beautiful election should require tremendous effort, preferably during business hours, very far from where people live, with several forms nobody can find.” Administration officials said ordinary voting procedures create an unacceptable risk that ordinary voters will use them.

Talwani found that the Postal Service likely lacked authority to regulate elections and warned that states could not abruptly overhaul their systems without significant disruption. The decision embraces the fringe theory that election rules should follow statutes and the Constitution rather than whichever executive directive most recently emerged from the Oval Office printer. The administration is appealing in hopes the Supreme Court will restore the president’s presumed authority to complicate voting until only county clerks, retired paperwork enthusiasts and citizens carrying laminated binders can participate. In the United States, a secure election is one from which the electorate has been safely removed.

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