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Election impact of SCOTUS decision on Trump mail-in ballot limits
Here’s what happened. In a massive, yet unsigned decision, the conservative majority bypassed the core question of legality in this matter. Instead, the justices ruled that 23 Democratic-run states, plus the District of Columbia, simply did not have the legal standing to sue right now.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - A sweeping move by the U.S. Supreme Court is kicking the legal battle over voters' ballots into high gear, with just over 70 days until Election Day.
Big picture view:
The high court just cleared the way for President Trump’s executive order on mail-in ballots, and as you might imagine, it’s causing a whole new dust-up among Democrats and Republicans.
This move by the Supreme Court is sure to spark chaos just weeks before the midterms.
In a massive, yet unsigned decision, the conservative majority bypassed the core question of legality in this matter. Instead, the justices ruled that 23 Democratic-run states, plus the District of Columbia, simply did not have the legal standing to sue as of Monday evening.
What's next:
You can almost hear the lawsuits being filed now, with time of the essence. For example, North Carolina is already set to ship out its first military and overseas ballots in early September. The executive order was signed in March and directs the Postal Service to restrict mail-in ballot delivery only to voters on lists that are approved by the federal government.
Election experts say major disruptions are imminent, with wars playing out in multiple courtrooms.
What they're saying:
FOX 2 spoke with elected officials in both parties for their take.
"It’s a mean-spirited attempt on the part of President Trump," said City Council member Mary Waters. "He is using his court, his stacked court, to suppress the votes. Many of our seniors do mail-in ballots. Nobody wants to be on a federal list. People become very suspicious about those kinds of things."
"First of all, this is not a stacked Supreme Court," said Eaton County Commissioner Chris Arndt. "They have ruled against the president on numerous occasions, much to his consternation, and so far they have only done what they believe to be correct and constitutional. What they did was state that the Democrats that have been challenging it don’t have a platform on which to stand on this."
State attorneys general promise new emergency lawsuits are already being drafted to freeze the order before it hits local mailboxes.
FOX 2 will update this report as more information comes out.
The Source: FOX 2 used previous reporting and talked with elected officials for information in this report.