US midterms begin with chaos over mail-voting crackdown
WASHINGTON: America’s midterm elections opened Friday in a fog of confusion over mail voting, with ballots already going out as President Donald Trump presses courts to let him impose sweeping new restrictions on how they are handled.
On Friday, the United States began its midterm elections amidst confusion surrounding mail voting procedures. President Donald Trump has been pushing courts to impose new restrictions on how mail ballots are handled. North Carolina became the first state to authorize the sending of mail ballots, officially launching the election season which will determine control of Congress for the final two years of Trump's term.
However, voters and election officials are still uncertain about the rules that may govern millions of mail ballots as Trump seeks the Supreme Court's revival of restrictions previously blocked by a federal judge. The dispute was heightened by allegations of a rushed, inadequately tested Postal Service verification system that could delay or disqualify entire batches of ballots due to barcode issues.
A federal judge extended her previous temporary block on Trump's plan, warning that hurried changes could cause widespread disruption. The Trump administration plans to appeal to the Supreme Court against the judge's order. The administration claims these rules aim to protect election integrity, but they lack evidence of significant mail voting fraud.
Trump has previously dismissed mail voting as corrupt while using it himself. The uncertainty arises in a system already characterized by significant differences across states, including automatic ballot sending, request-based systems, varying identification requirements, return deadlines, and late-arriving ballot rules. Election officials now face the prospect of federal requirements changing while voting is already underway.
North Carolina officials said the mailings would proceed, but they do not plan to use the federal portal at the center of the dispute. However, time is running out for any nationwide overhaul. The deadline for states to submit voter information to Trump's proposed portal was 60 days ago, with 18 states expected to begin distributing ballots around 45 days before Election Day.
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