Trumps Efforts to Sow Election Doubts Get Boost from Initial Court Order

A preliminary order Monday by the Supreme Court granting President Trump the authority to move ahead with aspects of his plan to restrict mail-in ballots is unlikely the final verdict on his efforts to overhaul the voting process.But the emergency opinion did immediately help Mr.Trump in one clear way.Whether the president ultimately wins or loses in the courts, the latest ruling bolstered his longstanding efforts to seed doubt about the voting process, voting rights advocates said, a campaign that Mr.

Trump has ramped up ahead of midterm elections that could see significant gains for Democrats.“The purpose is not for legal victory,” said Michael McNulty, the senior policy director for Issue One, a nonpartisan group that tracks election issues.“The purpose is exactly to sow chaos, to create fear and confusion and confuse voters and attempt to undermine confidence” in the outcome.The president’s attempt to have the U.S.

Postal Service determine whether voters can cast ballots by mail this fall will likely alarm and confuse the public as multiple court fights play out, according to state officials.Tobias Read, Oregon’s Democratic secretary of state, noted that his state would in a matter of weeks be sending out ballots to overseas voters and members of the military.“Now is not the time to make major changes to how elections are run in Oregon,” Mr.Read said at a news conference Tuesday, adding: “This election is effectively underway.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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