Escalation: D.C. Circuit allows mail-vote order

A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit refused to block President Donald Trump’s order restricting mail voting. It left in place a May decision by U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols that said a freeze on the order was premature until formal rules were issued. The decision was unsigned, with no noted dissents, and the panel included two Obama appointees and one Trump appointee.

The judges said carrying out the order would require a substantial, unfunded overhaul of election procedures and Postal Service mail handling just months before November. They noted the President has no express constitutional authority over how elections are run and questioned whether the plan could be implemented at all.

In a separate Massachusetts case, a judge has already blocked the order for this year’s elections, and an appeals court upheld that on Saturday. At the same time, postal workers are being directed to prepare an online portal through which voters would have to submit information to be eligible for mail ballots.

AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources