Washington sues again to stop Trump administration mail-in voting requirements

Excerpt from the Washington State Standard via yahoo!news:

Washington is suing to stop the Trump administration’s latest attempt to restrict mail-in voting, days after the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door for the effort to move forward.

Washington and other states had sued over President Donald Trump’s executive order issued in March on the issue. A lower court blocked its implementation, but an emergency ruling from the high court this week lifted that injunction.

The justices, in a split decision along ideological lines, didn’t weigh in on the constitutionality of Trump’s order, only determining the lower court injunction was premature.

The muddled legal landscape just over two months out from the midterms is stirring confusion as Democrats hope to retake Congress and hold the Trump administration accountable.

The outcome of the court fight is particularly important in Washington, where almost all votes are cast via drop boxes and mail. Washington already requires each voter to sign an attestation that they’re qualified to vote, and a signature verification process ensures each ballot is cast by a registered voter.

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Attorney General Nick Brown, a Democrat, said in a press conference Wednesday morning that the proposed federal rules accompanying the executive order “will totally upend how our elections are administered.”

Meanwhile, Hobbs’ office is seeing if extra drop boxes can be added. Nearly 70% of ballots in this month’s primary election were returned via drop box.

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Twenty-five states are bringing Wednesday’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts. Brown is co-leading the coalition. The complaint argues the Trump administration’s proposal “effectively eliminates mail voting through its onerous administration requirements.”

The states say the order violates the U.S. Constitution, which gives states the power to run elections. They’re seeking a temporary restraining order from a judge blocking its implementation, and hoping for a court hearing as soon as possible.

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