US appeals court rejects Trump bid to implement new vote-by-mail rules
The ruling is a blow to Trump administration's efforts to change how mail-in voting works ahead of November elections.
A United States appeals court has declined to allow the administration of President Donald Trump to implement controversial new rules about how mail-in voting is conducted, with less than eight weeks left before the November 3 midterm elections.
On Thursday, the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, Massachusetts, decided against lifting an injunction against the rules, issued by a lower court last week.
At issue are a set of finalised rules released by the US Postal Service (USPS) in late August that would place new requirements on mail-in balloting.
It cited issues including that “it would be impossible for some States to reprint compliant envelopes” and that the Postal Service would face the “herculean task” of scanning “tens of millions of ballot envelopes” using a digital portal that is not yet functional.