The Trump administration renewed its appeal to the Supreme Court on Sunday, after a federal judge blocked new restrictions on mail ballots ahead of the midterm elections.

The filing came after U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani extended an order preventing the Postal Service from enforcing President Donald Trump's executive order for the November elections. The executive order, issued earlier this year, directed federal agencies to change how mail ballots are handled, including requirements for ballot envelopes.

The legal dispute is unfolding as states begin sending out mail ballots, leaving the administration little time to make major changes to mail ballot rules. North Carolina is traditionally among the first states to send out general-election ballots each cycle, which is why litigation over election procedures often comes to a head in early September.

"Ballots have already begun to be mailed in North Carolina, and more States will begin the mailing process as the injunction remains in place — including Alabama on September 9 and at least five States the week of September 13," Solicitor General John Sauer said in the filing.

"Once those ballot envelopes enter the mailstream, there is no retrieving them. And while the injunction allows the Postal Service and the States to continue taking steps to ensure that their envelopes satisfy the Rule's requirements … each day the injunction is in place risks sowing confusion and chaos because the injunction makes those preparatory steps voluntary, rather than mandatory."

The appeal marks the third time the administration has asked the high court to intervene. The Supreme Court has allowed the plan to move forward but has not ruled on whether it is legal. Such emergency, or "shadow docket," applications are typically decided on the justices' emergency timeline without full briefing or oral argument, and the court often resolves them with brief orders that do not settle the underlying legal questions.

The battle could have major ramifications for this year's elections, in which control of Congress is at stake. Nearly one-third of voters in the U.S. cast mail ballots. Mail voting expanded sharply in the 2020 election during the COVID-19 pandemic and has remained a significant share of turnout since, making procedural rules around mail ballots a recurring point of legal and political contention.

Democratic states and voting rights groups argue the changes are unconstitutional. Election officials contend there is not enough time to revise their systems to comply with the new Postal Service directives.

The Trump administration has framed the restrictions as commonsense changes that fall within its power to regulate the mail.

"Simply put, the best way to address respondents' fears about inability to comply with the Rule is to grant an immediate administrative stay of the order, followed by a full stay pending further review," Sauer said. "That will remove the improper cloud of uncertainty that the district court has cast over the Rule, making clear to all involved that compliance with the Rule is not optional and must start without further delay."

The filing added that eligibility for mail-in and absentee voting will continue to be governed by state law, and that state and local officials will determine who is eligible to use the method and which ballots are eligible to be counted. "The Postal Service will not play any role in determining voter eligibility, maintaining voter rolls, or counting ballots."

Trump has long sought to limit mail voting, even though he himself often casts his own ballot by mail. He has falsely blamed mail balloting for his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, spreading baseless claims of fraud. So far, he has been unable to change the longstanding voting procedure. What to watch next is whether the Supreme Court grants a stay this time, and if the case proceeds, whether the justices ultimately address the broader question of executive authority over state-run election procedures — an issue with implications well beyond this cycle.

Source: Fortune