미 대법원, 트럼프 ‘우편투표 제한’ 가처분 일부 해제…중간선거 영향 주목

The U.S. Supreme Court has partially lifted a Trump administration rule aimed at restricting mail-in voting ahead of the upcoming November midterm elections. This ruling comes as the pivotal elections draw nearer and attention is focused on its potential impact. The court halted one of the lower court injunctions that sought to enforce the administration's administrative order limiting mail-in voting.

However, the court's decision does not overturn the core of Trump's executive order restricting mail-in voting, leaving the ultimate destination of mail-in voting uncertain. The court's ruling was decided 6-3, echoing the majority's view that there is no immediate damage and the administration's order has not yet been implemented in a concrete manner.

Therefore, state governments do not have legal standing to challenge the issue at this stage, according to the Department of Justice. The court acknowledged that the actions of federal agencies have not yet affected the states, and thus any alleged damage by Trump's order is speculative. The dissenting judges Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan argued that state governments should not wait to challenge the administration's order.

State governments contend that the administration's attempts to hastily change mail-in voting rules before the midterm elections could disenfranchise a significant number of voters. Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom of California stated that the court has allowed the Trump administration to continue its plan to potentially strip voting rights from voters nationwide for now.

He also announced that California would file another lawsuit to block the administration's "Orwellian" measures. New York Attorney General Letitia James emphasized in a statement that the decision represents a setback but is not the final judgment, and that the right to vote must be protected from being made difficult by any administration.

The Supreme Court declined to act on another injunction issued by Judge Taft, which concerned a separate lawsuit filed by voting rights organizations. Despite this, the Postal Service issued final rules on November 21 to comply with Trump's executive order on mail-in voting. Trump's executive order aimed to fundamentally change the U.S. election system and came amid claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden.

Trump's administration has been pressing for passage of the "Save America Act," a voting restriction package backed by the Republican-controlled Congress.