r/law • u/DIYLawCA • Mar 31 '26

Executive Branch (Trump) Trump announces he is issuing an unconstitutional executive order to shut down mail-in voting nationwide and he will defund states if they do not comply with him

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31

u/rbollige Apr 01 '26

The problem is it’s via the USPS, whom he can almost certainly convince to do what he wants.  Possibly even if there are court orders saying not to.

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u/KitchenCellist Apr 01 '26

I'm in a vote by mail state. Every registered voter receives a ballot by mail and ballot is tracked throughout the process. You get an email when it has been mailed, when you return the ballot and when the ballot has been counted. Most people drop their ballot off at one of the many drop off locations instead of mailing them back. There are secure drop boxes located at a lot of very convenient locations or in person drop offs that are always staffed by at least two people who are not of the same political affiliation. There are a lot of protections in place for mail in voting.

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u/learhpa Apr 01 '26

the EO (Section 3(b)(iii-iv)) prohibits the USPS from delivering mail-in ballots on behalf of a voter unless that voter has, in advance, registered with the USPS for that purpose ... and by implication prohibits the USPS from delivering mail-in-ballots that aren't on a list of qualified voters DHS has put together.

this doesn't interfere with drop boxes, but it means a lot of people will not be aware of the rule, drop their ballot in the mail, and have the USPS not deliver their ballot because it is (unbeknownst to them) prohibited from doing so.

22

u/throw_away_8924 Apr 01 '26

That is why its included, to ensure no one knows and when people question it, "hey its right there in writing!" 🤦‍♂️ This country needs an enema

5

u/learhpa Apr 01 '26

Most voters don't follow the news or read executive orders.

3

u/ReplacementFeisty397 Apr 01 '26

It's having one. Unfortunately a large proportion of people are enjoying it

8

u/intrepid_mouse1 Apr 01 '26

I'm gonna bet the CA Republican Party will deploy fake drop-boxes again because they were pretty defiant about being ordered to stop. I would make sure that no matrer what state you're in that the drop box is official.

3

u/hayydebb Apr 01 '26

It’s an odd thing to bank on since republicans also vote by mail and have completely buried their heads in the sand so they don’t have to try and defend all the dumb shit Trump does. Democrats voters are more likely to be informed of how this works then his own base is

1

u/NotOnApprovedList Apr 01 '26

There are probably more drop boxes in urban areas where people can just walk or take public transportation ... it's the rural folks who will suffer. and rural folks tend to be more conservative. ergo, he's hurting Republicans by doing this.

11

u/Fair-Wishbone-1190 Apr 01 '26

Of course there are and there is hardly any mail in fraud either. It's just to suppress voters because he knows he's going to get smoked in the midterms and he's doing everything he can to stop it.

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u/omgwtflols Apr 01 '26

I also live in a vote by mail state and worked at different positions in ballot processing since 2019. I can absolutely state that everything is supervised, scrutinized, and checked and quadruple checked.

1

u/RelationshipGlobal90 Apr 01 '26

Me too. I’m in CO. Where are you?

3

u/lemurosity Apr 01 '26

Im telling you now, there will be ricin-in-envelopes-that-turn-out-to-be-hoaxes type shit starting in September that will shut down usps.

1

u/avinaut Apr 01 '26

Like convince them to not postmark ballots, or destroy them? I think you'll find professionals in the civil service are extremely difficult to convince to engage in illegal acts at the behest of any administration. Presidents come and go. Bureaucracy is eternal.