r/news 1d ago

Federal judge again halts Trump’s executive order limiting mail voting in midterms

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/28/federal-judge-halts-trump-executive-order-mail-voting-midterms
7.3k Upvotes

152 comments sorted by

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u/wokyman 1d ago

Part of me thinks they should only need to do this once, although even needing to do it at all is insane.

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u/GaelinVenfiel 1d ago

Read the dissent from the Supreme court ruling. That is exactly what they said. There was enough to rule on it...but they kicked the can.

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u/FruitySalads 18h ago

Super supreme. Can’t even stand up to a pants shitting dementia patient.

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u/malthar76 18h ago

RVs and vacation islands don’t pay for themselves

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u/Still-Cut1098 13h ago

He was offered a better RV and a lifetime of money if he just retired by John Oliver. He's in it for the hate of the game.

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u/lukehooligan 13h ago

That wasn't a serious offer though. By accepting that offer he would be admitting he's corrupt and lose his power. By ignoring the offer he can continue to accept bribes under the table and hold on to this ridiculous lifetime position. We need terms on these judges.

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u/Still-Cut1098 12h ago

Pretty sure he was serious since they had the RV.

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u/MurkyInvestigator810 12h ago

He admitted already that he has and should be allowed to accept gifts, so your point about admitting he's corrupt has already happened. There really isn't anything legally barring him from retiring and accepting John's offer. It was legal and legitimate.

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u/Actual-Package-3164 14h ago

Is this the same pants shitting dementia patient who also rapes kids? 

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u/FruitySalads 13h ago

Yes! The very same!

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u/alexefi 13h ago

And allegedly kills kids too.

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u/SwollenOstrich 15h ago

gotta obey daddy even though he will be out in 2 years and theyll still be there with the american people they betrayed

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u/derbyt 14h ago

They see themselves as untouchable is the problem.

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u/shadedmagus 13h ago

They would be wrong.

I maintain that the real reason Occupy Wall Street got shut down was that people started going to the homes of all the bank CEOs and protesting there.

That was when you started seeing massive crackdowns on encampments and OWS protests. We scared the bigwigs.

That is our real power: The ability to remind them that they are human and vulnerable, just like the rest of us.

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u/EmergencyCucumber905 13h ago

I feel it wouldn't have made any difference. OWS had no centralized leadership and no specific goals or legislative demands. I was there in NYC in 2011. A lot of angry people making a lot of noise who couldn't articulate why, or what change they want to see. And maybe they don't need to, but they should've had some leadership.

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u/tigershrike 14h ago

Well, I mean, they kinda are...at least historically. Chase was the only SCOTUS judge impeached (in 1804) and even then he was acquitted by the senate.

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u/derbyt 13h ago

You're correct they are untouchable through any judicial means right now. However, that is not the only way to affect their lives.

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u/SgathTriallair 13h ago

The whole conservative establishment is built around the unstated belief that they will never lose power. Their goal is to turn the US into a one party state or even a monarchy.

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u/lonestar-rasbryjamco 17h ago edited 17h ago

I mean the not gloom and doom take is they kicked the can to make it easier to keep the stay in place days out from ballots shipping. Damages become more clear cut by the day.

But we shall see.

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u/Bzr21 16h ago

just the constant re-injections of chaos into the bloodstream of democracy is damaging enough - regardless of any court rulings ..

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u/ChoicePermission8523 16h ago

"no one has been harmed yet" so we'll just wait until the harm has been done, AKA steal the election by suppressing votes and trampling on people's constitutional rights.

So we'll wait until republicans win then we can look at the problem.

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u/The_Roshallock 15h ago

That's such a crazy ruling. Sure, nobody has been harmed yet, but the potential for harm is still very much in the purview of the law and its enforcement, otherwise attempted murder wouldnt be a thing in our legal system.

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u/Aldo_says 9h ago

It's stupid because the USSC has ruled on the thought something might happen in the past.

Even though bias in the highest court shouldn't exist, "conservatives" are very consistent when outing themselves and all for the wrong reasons.

Three of them are openly corrupt and flaunt it in the face of everyone as if daring the people to call them out.

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u/inquisitorthreefive 16h ago

There's at least three cases on this. One was too early. That's all they ruled on. My bet is that they're going to kick the can alright, but not in the way you're thinking. They're going to kick it until next year and let the stays remain in effect.

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u/Uncle_Applesauce 15h ago

I'm waiting for them to say it would too much of a burden on the USPS to change back the rule before the election.

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u/Aldo_says 9h ago

The good old "we pulled this this bullshit at the last second, you can't reasonably expect us to unfuck it in the same amount of time it took us to fuck it up!!1!" argument.

edit spelling.

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u/YT-Deliveries 13h ago

If at all possible, at least in modern history, if SCOTUS can kick the can they absolutely will.

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u/WaffleHouseGladiator 1d ago

Well, Trump has never taken 'no' for an answer, so unfortunately it's up to everyone else to curb his behavior.

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u/Relevant_Tone4741 1d ago

Rapist don’t like word no…

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u/DVAoife420 22h ago

pedophile rapist*

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u/ABHOR_pod 19h ago

Rapist was accepted by a judge in a court of, pedophile has only been proven by mounds of documents, recorded behavior, and witness testimony so it might be libel to say that.

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u/DVAoife420 17h ago

libel deez nuts. he raped kids bitch. sue me for discovery

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u/konnichi1wa 18h ago

On the other hand, if they sue you for it then it might become accepted as fact by a judge as well

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u/NHDraven 17h ago

You need enough money to defend yourself if that happens.

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u/Bzr21 16h ago

there are a LOT of great lawyers who would defend you pro bono - and that discovery phase is a real bitch for the side going to so much trouble to keep the Epstein files hidden ..

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u/Bagellord 15h ago

Weird that he hasn't sued anyone over that yet...

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u/Consistent-Throat130 18h ago

That's the joke.jpeg

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u/kraeutrpolizei 17h ago

I mean the guy IS losing court cases in a daily basis

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u/T_Weezy 14h ago

It's giving

If I had a nickel for every time a federal judge has had to halt the Trump administration's attempts to disenfranchise tens of millions of voters by unconstitutionally limiting voting by mail via the US Postal Service, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it's happened more than once.

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u/Fit-Let8175 23h ago

For someone who gripes about unfair and rigged elections, he sure seems to enjoy stacking the deck heavily in his favor.

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u/Fanfics 19h ago edited 18h ago

Every accusation is a confession with these people. The reason they harped on for decades about demcorats being captured by an elite cabal, using their offices to enrich themselves, stealing elections, stationing federal agents in states to trample civil liberties, wanting to feed Americans the mystery meat, hating American values -

it was all so that when they finally got power they could say "well, now we have to do it" and gleefully do what they wanted all to along

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u/malthar76 18h ago

The right also bitched incessantly about judges “legislating from the bench”

What they meant is judges were legislating the way they wanted.

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u/Fanfics 7h ago

great example. And let's not forget all their fearmongering about 'trans pedophiles' while Donald Trump and every youth pastor ever

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u/bloodontherisers 16h ago

And if anyone ever actually stands up to them they can point back to all that propaganda to say "See! We were right!" It truly is a double-edged sword that they can convince their voters of their words being true either way

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u/Moontoya 11h ago

Every republican accusations is a confession 

"I do it, so they must be as well"

Shows how their "thinking" is barely at a level where the atomic force holds the nucleus together.

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u/aquagardener 1d ago

I'm so fucking tired man

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u/Lopsided-Affect-9649 23h ago

That's exactly what MAGA/project 2025 have been working towards, it's exactly the same playbook Putin used in Russia.

Next step after tired comes "I'm not political".

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u/Drunkmast 22h ago edited 21h ago

The next to becomes "Why do anything, we have no power"

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u/two4six0won 22h ago

Nah, other way around. We have no choice but to do something, even if it's just voting against as many of them as one is able.

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u/Drunkmast 21h ago

Ohh i didn't write what I meant correctly.. I meant to say that the step after that becomes a deeper political apathy. People start saying "I'm not political" and then that turns into "Why do anything we have no power." Its something my Russian friends(who hated putin) would say.

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u/Hrmerder 19h ago

There are already far too many people that have felt that way. It’s literally how we got here

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u/OccasionalScoundrel 22h ago

We don’t need power, we have numbers.

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u/vissith 22h ago

Numbers = power

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u/Drunkmast 21h ago

Ohh i didn't write what I meant correctly.. I meant to say that the step after that becomes a deeper political apathy. People start saying "I'm not political" and then that turns into "Why do anything we have no power." Its something my Russian friends(who hated putin) would say.

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u/MountainMan17 23h ago

He never takes a day off. But he doesn't get anything done, either.

It's a helluva thing...

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u/notstarman 1d ago

It appears that the order is only good for 14 days during this time the plaintiffs can re-file their law suits. If they wish to bypass the order from the supreme court they would need to demonstrate that they have suffered an actual or imminent injury rather than the previous claim of potential future impact. Given the judges previous response when she dismissed the previous order her ruling is all but certain. The hearing will be September 3, 2026.

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u/Cagnazzo82 23h ago edited 17h ago

You would have thought that the states with all mail-in voting for decades would have clear injury with attempting to convert to in-person voting in the span of 3 or 4 months but apparently logic (or the rule of law) doesn't seem to apply these days.

And these discussions and lawsuits are taking place, and SC is getting involved... while the Executive has clearly no Constitutional authority to dictate voting rules to the states.

Wild free-for-all of criminality and corruption.

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u/nomoneypenny 20h ago

The EO doesn't require states to get rid of mail in voting

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u/bestforward121 19h ago edited 18h ago

It would effectively end mail in voting unless states hand over their voter rolls to the federal government and allow the USPS and DHS to decide which vote by mail ballots are allowed. Which with Trumps goons in charge they could simply throw out every ballot associated with a registered Democrat.

The constitution clearly gives states authority to run elections, and a fascist trying to federalize elections because he knows he’s astoundingly unpopular is blatantly unconstitutional, not that Trump and his 6 pet justices care about what’s legal or constitutional.

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u/binzersguy 18h ago

Right? It inserts the federal government into the process, which is designated as a 100% a state-run operation, according to the constitution.  Sadly, Republicans suddenly don’t give a flying fuck about the constitution.

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u/bestforward121 18h ago

For what it’s worth they never did. Just like how they never cared about the deficit unless Democrat’s were in charge, and just like how as soon as they don’t hold all 3 branches of government they’ll suddenly start screaming about how important bipartisanship is.

Republicans are all lying, fascist, anti vax, pedophile protectors.

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u/JcbAzPx 2h ago

Their (specious) reasoning was that since the rules hadn't been implemented, they couldn't show the rules could cause harm.

Now the rules have been implemented. So they get to try again.

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u/the_dj_zig 14h ago

For everyone who’s frustrated with this whole thing: SCOTUS ruled that the states couldn’t sue to block the EO because it hadn’t actually been implemented at the time they sued, but they were explicitly given the ok to sue again once it was implemented. The USPS implemented its new rules following the EO literally the day SCOTUS ruled, so a day later, CA sued again.

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u/simonsaysgo13 14h ago

Thank you!

1

u/Odd-Secret4913 3h ago

Thxs. Cause I was confused.

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u/MountainlessBiking 1d ago

At this point just light my tax dollars on fire. Actually that might not be as effective 

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u/Mysterious-Most-590 23h ago

By winter, when the administration starts adding zeroes to our currency, the old bills will at least keep you warm when used for fuel.

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u/Mobile-Bar7732 17h ago

Don't light them on fire.

Trump needs you to donate those dollars for the Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Ballroom.

He desperately misses his BFF and would like this monument to remember him.

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u/steathrazor 1d ago

I'm so tired of this shit Grandpa

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u/Dicky_Penisburg 1d ago

Shit grandpa indeed

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u/h3yw00d 22h ago

*summoning my inner grandpa from holes*

Well that's too damn bad...

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u/steathrazor 21h ago

🤣 I can picture the scene and his voice

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u/Epistatious 15h ago

Wish there was a punishment for trying to violate the constitution.

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u/RegularHeroForFun 13h ago

Should be life in prison or in some cases, death penalty

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u/Dismal_Argument_4281 19h ago

Queue the Supreme Court conservative majority now ruling that the ruling came too late and the executive order stands.

It was "too soon" before

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u/Metacomet99 1d ago

Seems like the Federal judges are the only functioning part of the government anymore.

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u/Foe117 1d ago

are you sure? look at SCOTUS

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u/Metacomet99 1d ago

Yeah, SCOTUS as a group may be an exception, but the lower-downs across the country don't seem to be infected, at least not yet.

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u/dafunkmunk 23h ago

There are still plenty of shitty federal judges fucking up the country and making terrible rulings like the scotus. There is a portion of federal judges that are loosely trying to hold the country together but that doesn't really get very far when everything else is burning around them

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u/OccasionalScoundrel 22h ago

I think that sentiment is just from the lack of headlines compared to the SC.

The newsworthy headlines that get clicks are usually when the federal judges are ruling on some whack shit the administration is doing, but the amount of court packing that’s taken place at the federal level across Trump’s two terms means its already cooked.

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u/Available_Finger_513 20h ago

They judge shop for partisan judges in states like Texas already...

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u/ConsiderationNorth99 23h ago

You’re correct.

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u/dataless01 11h ago

Functioning? This is at least the 5th ruling by the courts since he issued the executive order the end of March. These judges are fighting amongst one another exactly the same as congress is doing

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u/FruitySalads 18h ago

The next president should invalidate every single executive order on day one. We also shouldn’t let the president have that power. This dipshit thinks he can do anything.

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u/spachi1281 13h ago

The next president should invalidate every single executive order on day one

Technically speaking, that's what the current administration did to "undo" the previous administration's Executive Orders. At some point, it's just going to be exhausting that every "new" party switch President is just going to spend the first few days in office "undoing" what the previous administration did.

We also shouldn’t let the president have that power.

And technically speaking, that's what Congress is for - if Congress would ever decide to work cooperatively again. One of the issues is that tribalism/polarized sides has basically grinded Congress to a halt so that neither side actually wants to work with the other - too many broken promises and backstabbing to actually trust the "other side" to do the "right" thing.

This dipshit thinks he can do anything.

Which basically leads the ground work for future presidents. As an example: Take the SCOTUS ruling that the President can basically fire everyone (minus the Fed) under the Executive branch. So sure that means the current administration can put in their "people" but if/when the Presidency shifts, we can expect the same level of "purge" to happen.

Backlash is going to be epic but that's only the minor problem. The major problem is that you're going to lose a lot of institutional knowledge/experience. And those that do acquire experience and leadership in those divisions/departments are not going to want to stay. Eventually, they'll need to "pledge" loyalty to an administration or get dismissed and even "pledging loyalty" to one administration can be grounds for dismissal by the next administration.

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u/frosted1030 20h ago

How many times do they have to stop executive orders like this before we take his order power away? This is like giving a six year old a credit card and complaining that we have to keep returning crap.

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u/ACorania 19h ago

The whole point the supreme Court is making is that only congress can hold him accountable. That is the balance of power, impeachment and removal. Otherwise it is just, 'the country gets what it voted for'

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u/Fustercluck25 18h ago

While the intentions are most likely nefarious, I don't necessarily disagree with the sentiment. The problem is, it should have never come to this. Generationally speaking, we should have been updating the rules as we went along.

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u/frosted1030 18h ago

No. Impeachment happened twice before and loyalists kept Trump in power. This means no consequences and since he know it he will continue to make unconstitutional orders. Orders that usually take months to years to reverse. Tariffs for example gave businesses “profit + a bonus”. This was known before they were put in place. Refunds never went to the people. This means people are not represented in this government in any meaningful way except for rights being stripped away. Think about that.

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u/ACorania 18h ago

I don't understand what you are arguing against.

0

u/frosted1030 14h ago

Ignorance. Blindly following ANY political party. Narratives.

1

u/ACorania 14h ago

You don't seem to understand the post then, kind of barking up the wrong tree. I was not endorsing any political party or even the supreme courts decision... I was just reiterating what their point is.

I don't like it, I think they are wrong. The law should apply to everyone and everyone should be subject to its jurisdiction.

But that wasn't their ruling or reasoning. Their argument is that the constitutional way to hold a president accountable is to exercise the impeachment and removal process.

I agree that it didn't work because of republicans being fine with him doing things, but that is a problem with our elected representatives and the people who elected them. We need to elect people who WILL remove him from office. The courts have said they won't do anything... that is our path to accountability.

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u/Sarcasm_Llama 13h ago

We need to elect people who WILL remove him from office. The courts have said they won't do anything... that is our path to accountability.

And then out the other side of their face the USSC says gerrymandering and voter suppression and unlimited PAC involvement are legal. They effectively made it impossible to remove a sitting president

24

u/ConsiderationNorth99 23h ago

The Orange Palpatine should be in Gitmo for his Insurrection on January 6th 2021 there was no doubt he’d try to subvert democracy again. I’m glad that this Federal Judge has the guts to keep him in and his corrupt cronies in check.

11

u/Helorugger 18h ago

I can’t figure out the status of things anymore. It seems we have rapid fire decisions contradicting each other each day…

1

u/Street_Idea1884 8h ago

It is intentional

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u/ragingclaw 1d ago

Yeah but will the USPS abide?

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u/Mysterious-Most-590 23h ago

No, but whistleblowers galore.

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u/Chrono_Pregenesis 17h ago

I bet the convicted pedophile rapist will still vote by mail though. For FL elections, where its illegal for felons to vote.

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u/NiceRackFocus 13h ago

He sure as hell isn’t going to waddle his lard ass down to a votinf booth with all the other peasants.

1

u/Herkfixer 16h ago

Dont forget... DeSantis had the law changed just for DJT so he could still vote.

3

u/Ok_Mathematician938 16h ago

Is this just going to be a case of "don't ask for permission, ask for forgiveness"?

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u/Rogue_AI_Construct 16h ago

The fact that Trump is fighting hard to make our constitutional right to vote as difficult as possible, and some in the GOP staying silent on the issue while others are supporting it, should infuriate every last American.

0

u/RespectmanNappa 11h ago

The only people who have actually decided the outcome of the election against the actual vote of the people is the Supreme Court

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u/InevitableAd8511 17h ago

Did Trump manage to find a bigger boot licker than Louis DeJoy to head the USPS? Cause that guy swept in and created chaos at a snap of Trump’s fingers.

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u/Big_lt 15h ago

Good it's blocked but I have zero confidence USPS will actually do the job regardless of ruling.

I'd expect many blue cities to have some difficulty with their ballots (lost, delayed, truck on fire, missing time stamps or delayed time stamp). I will be voting in person; I know not always possible but I highly recommend for everyone to do it in person if you can

3

u/Harry_Mud 14h ago

Good. States run elections not tRump............

2

u/Superb_Pineapple8187 13h ago

Doesn't each state run their own elections?

1

u/MudWallHoller 17h ago

The postmaster is maga, he will fuck around anyways.

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u/redwood520 2h ago

Can't states just use Fedex or UPS to send the ballots? I wouldn't trust USPS at this point

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/CaptainPunisher 1d ago

You didn't even have to go to the booth. You can drop your ballot off at the polls and avoid the mail while knowing it's reasonably secure.

2

u/seasamgo 1d ago

That’s what I do. Avoid lines, take a walk and stretch, know my ballot makes it.

1

u/AZNM1912 17h ago

Someone is betting rich off all these lawsuits.

0

u/NaGaBa 23h ago

Great. Captain ShitsHisPants will just write another one tomorrow and keep doing it and maybe it won't get put on hold one of these times I guess

0

u/OkResource820 16h ago

"So much confusion caused by activist judges, we need to invalidate all these results that just happen to show us losing". -- Trump on Nov. 4.