Nothing changes yet with the Supreme Court’s order on elections. But it could open door to ‘chaos’

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court's decision giving preliminary approval for President Donald Trump's order restricting mail voting may not lead to a single election procedure changing during the November midterms, but it has already thrown into uncertainty the method that almost one-third of.

What happened

When they convinced a federal judge in Boston to freeze the order for November's election, rather than saying that Trump's order is legal, the high court remarked Monday it was too early for Democratic-run states to challenge it in June. That effectively restarts the legal fight over the order in an incredibly compressed timeline, with initial ballots scheduled to be sent to North Carolina's overseas and military voters in just over a week, on Sept. 4.

Notably, a second injunction barring the U.S. Postal Service from making changes to comply with Trump's directive remains in effect. Still, the administration late Monday filed a motion asking that the second hold be removed, and has posted new regulations from the Postal Service that would go into effect Tuesday if the legal pathway is fully cleared.

The bottom line

Taken together, the developments around nothing changes yet with the Supreme Courts order on elections. But it point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.