US Supreme Court hands a win to Trump over mail-in ballot restrictions

Aug 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday lifted one court order blocking President Donald Trump 's administration from implementing an executive order restricting the use of mail-in ballots ahead of the November midterm elections.

But the fate of Trump's order remains uncertain, as a separate injunction blocking a key part of the plan remains in place.

Republicans are locked in a tight battle to retain control of Congress in the midterms. Restricting mail-in ballots would stand to disproportionately benefit Republicans given that Democratic voters traditionally have been more likely to use mail-in ballots.

Monday's ruling from the Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority applied to a June injunction from Boston-based U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani.

A coalition of 23 mostly Democratic-governed states and the District of Columbia had sued to stop the executive order over mail-in ballots. The Supreme Court on Monday said it was too soon for the states to challenge the order but left the door open for them to sue again as the midterm contest approaches.

Trump's executive order, issued in March, directed the Department of Homeland Security to compile and ​transmit to the states a list of U.S. citizens eligible to vote in each state, and the Justice Department to prioritize investigating and prosecuting state and local election ​officials who issue ballots to people deemed "not eligible" to vote in federal elections.

It also required the U.S. Postal Service to ​deliver ballots only to voters on ⁠each state's approved mail-in ballot list.

Trump has vowed to end the use of mail-in ballots nationwide before the midterms, and has long cast doubt on the security of such ballots, although evidence of voter fraud is rare.

The court on Monday did not act on another injunction from Talwani that blocked the USPS nationwide from enforcing the directive's tighter rules for voting by mail. The judge issued that order on August 11 in a separate lawsuit filed by voting-rights groups.

Trump's executive order is part of his wider efforts to make fundamental changes in U.S. elections. Trump, who has made false claims of widespread fraud in U.S. elections including his 2020 loss to former Democratic President Joe Biden, has pressed the Republican-controlled Congress to pass a contentious package of voting restrictions called the SAVE America Act.

In June, Talwani ruled that the president lacked the authority to order changes in how states administer federal elections, noting that under the U.S. Constitution, states have the role of determining voter-eligibility requirements.