The Trump administration filed a fresh emergency appeal to the US Supreme Court on Sunday, urging the justices to allow new restrictions on mail-in voting to take effect before November's midterm elections. The move came after US District Court Judge Indira Talwani, based in Boston, extended a court order on Friday blocking the US Postal Service (USPS) from enforcing President Donald Trump's executive order on mail ballots. It is the third time the administration has sought the high court's intervention in the dispute; the court has previously allowed the plan to proceed without ruling on its legality.

At the heart of the legal fight is an executive order Trump signed in March requiring the USPS to deliver mail ballots only to voters who appear on federal lists of citizens deemed eligible by the Department of Homeland Security — effectively limiting ballot delivery to pre-approved recipients. The administration framed the rule as a commonsense measure to protect voting security, arguing that the USPS was acting within its authority to set reasonable preparation requirements for election-related mail. Solicitor General John Sauer warned the Supreme Court that ballots have already begun going out in North Carolina, with Alabama set to follow on September 9 and at least five more states beginning their mailing process the week of September 13.