>> And executive order lawsuits and court decisions are stirring confusion over possible last minute changes to mail-in voting ahead of November's midterm elections.

Supreme Court decision this week allowed an executive order from the Trump administration to stand for now.

That order would create federal list of voters eligible for mail in ballots.

Now, the same coalition of states that filed the first suit, including Illinois, are suing the U.S.

Postal Service over its implementation of the new rules.

In a statement about today's lawsuit, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul says, quote, the U.S.

Constitution plainly gives states not the executive branch, the power to administer elections.

I will not let the chaos into the upcoming general election.

Joining us now are Steven Schwinn, a law professor at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

And Monica Gorton, Cook County Clerk.

Thanks you both for joining us.

Stephen.

Let's start with you.

Please clarify for us.

What did the March executive order say?

So the executive order did 3 things.

Brenda's first directed the Department of Homeland Security to create lists of voters in state and then to mail to those states, though that's the voters.

>> Second, it directed the attorney general to clamp down on certain election crimes and then the 3rd directed the U.S.

Postal Service too.

Configure ballots for mail in ballots and specify what would be on those ballots for the states.

And then only mail those ballots to and accept those ballots from voters that are registered in the state.

And what did the Supreme Court decide on Monday?

Well, the Supreme Court said that the states who sued halt that executive order, they want what we called standing.

And that meant that the state's wine able to show that they were harmed in the way that one needs to be harmed to get into federal court.

That in essence, they sued too soon because we didn't know yet how the Trump administration was going to enforce its executive order right now that that the whole timing.

>> Argument of it gets a little bit tricky because they're pursuing again.

Alright, that's going to talk about that more in a minute.

Gordon House Cook County preparing to handle mail-in voting.

This for the midterm elections while safer Cook County.

It's business as usual as many of you saw our federal partners, Congressman Krishnamurthy came to visit the election Center.

>> We're still running things as usual.

We're making sure voters know that they need to have a voting plan.

Always say I would never say, you know, don't vote by mail, but I always say have a voting plan.

And so the tour was amazing.

They were able to see how serious we are about election security as well as election officials all over the country.

think it's the states run elections, not our federal government we're moving forward.

We may show that they saw what Cook County has in place in terms the security, the technology safeguards that are in place, the preparation.

So I'll say this.

We're preparing for what to expect and we're preparing for not what to expect.

And so our contingencies have contingencies.

We're making sure that, you know, we're doing everything in our power.

Just in case anything happens.

There's any type of disruptive activity at the polls.

The executive order claims to be cracking down on fraud is not a problem that you found.

>> That is not a problem here.

Cook County and it's not a problem across our country once again, state and local officials that bind election they do with integrity.

They make sure the employee technology that's need it to make sure elections run fairly and securely, especially here in Cook County.

We take it very seriously.

And that's why was very important to have that score.

So people can actually see what we do.

What we have in place to protect their vote.

Stephen, Today's lawsuit, this one is against USPS U.S.

Postal Service.

Instead of the Trump administration, what else is different about this suit compared to the first one?

So this is a little bit different brands because now the United States Postal Service is actually implemented its regulations to go ahead and specify what the ballots need to look like.

The envelope for the ballot.

>> specify that states need to report to USPS who they're eligible.

Voters are now.

That's all very weird and unusual because as the clerk said, the federal government elections states to do in our constitutional system.

And so for the federal government and the U.S.

Postal Service to be trying to take this over very, very strange.

This just doesn't happen.

And the states now sued saying now that the regulation is in place, we've suffered the kind of harm that would allow us to get into federal court.

And we now have a right, the case withstanding so that we can sue to try to stop this.

>> Claire Gordon, how much some of these proposed changes impact Cook County voters?

>> Well, I'll say These changes won't affect voters options, especially well by voting by mail.

I say this all the time.

The biggest threat our democracy if this is misinformation and disinformation, there's a lot of confusion now with the rhetoric that's happening with the language that and everything that's being demonstrated.

Voting by mail is safe.

It's secure its fate and people who are worried about people who are not citizens voting.

Illinois statue state to have to be a citizen to vote.

There's been several cases in Cook County of a non-citizen voting.

This is all just dis-information that unfortunately is gaining traction I'm not seeing much traction here in Cook County, but I am fearful about what can happen.

So that's why we're out here making sure to come communicate with constituents to let them know your vote is safe.

But we want to say because of the USPS postal changes, the procedure challenges to vote as early as possible.

If you choose to vote by mail, please vote as soon as possible.

You can take your ballot any one of the 56 early voting locations and you can place a write-in are secure.

Smart about a drop boxes and which is new technology that we have piloted and we're doing it full force this election season.

And these are the I mean, they have tamper resistant construction, smart ballot tracking system.

A surveillance camera.

It's so we urge you either take it there to one of the 56 early voting locations or to take you right to post office.

You can take your right there have postmarked on the spot to make sure that vote count definitely don't wait until those few days leading up to the election that if male.

>> Stephen, what why?

What we mention the timing earlier?

But why is the timing of the March executive order important?

So the timing really puts states in a bind.

What happened is the administration issue, this executive order very late in the game in March.

>> And then the U.S.

Postal Service and DHS started to implement it just this summer.

And we have elections there just a couple of months away.

And our election officials need to get these ballots out in the mail.

So by the United States Postal Service issuing its regulations.

Now it's really putting state election officials in quite a bind.

We do.

We just really don't know whether they're going to be able to comply with the new USPS regulations.

Clerk, what trends have you seen in recent elections with who is choosing to vote by mail versus early in person all vote by mail.

This definitely have it.

It's increase now, al say that they had the biggest take up take when during a pandemic, but also the ballots come in ways.

You know, sometimes there's a higher peak.

Then there's a lower peak.

This higher peak before the election.

>> But seeing people vote by mail because it's easier.

Is it It makes it accessible.

And at the Cook County Clerk's office, our job is to make voting more accessible.

We what everyone to have the opportunity have their voice heard.

I'm Ian Vote by mail described the president voted by So we've Stephen, how might restrictions on mail-in voting a bleed over to affect in-person voting as well?

This is going to affect entire voting process Brandis.

The problem here is that the administration is sowing confusion.

>> And distrust in our voting system directly with regard to mail-in voting.

But that's going to spill over into general elections as well.

We've seen the administration take a number of other efforts anticipate that they'll take even more efforts.

>> To get involved in the fall elections in ways that just are going to confuse things and make voting very, very difficult.

And so I really want to underscore the message, make a plan to vote early vote when it make a plan.

Don't don't vote often.

Do vote often, right?

Just early start.

>> Clerk house the county preparing to secure in-person voting as well.

>> Well, and we are in partnership with local law enforcement as well as the Cook County Sheriff's Office.

So as I stated before, contingencies have contingencies in terms of where will prepare for what's expected for what not to expect.

But we remaining vigilant because I do that.

We've done the preparation.

We have extra security resources available across the county said yesterday that you've got no information of, for example, our immigration agents planning on being around or federal agents being around.

But you're still prepared to face exactly because polling places, our civic spaces, they her not for immigration enforcement or any type political activity.

So are remaining vigilant and we're going to make sure that Cook County voters have their opportunity get their voice heard.

Stephen, what could how much of this is going to remain in the courts between now and the midterm elections and how might all of this effect?

>> It's hard to say at this point.

I think these cases involving this particular executive order are going to play out in the courts over the next couple of weeks and months.

They're moving very, very quickly.

We've seen action in these courts just today, but there may be other litigation as well.

If we do, for example, see DHS officers or ICE officers or other federal officers at the polling places.

I expect that we'll see more litigation and anything else that the Trump administration might try to do to limit our our right to vote.

>> The Supreme Court could be back in.

What could this issue be back in front of for example, with the case that was just filed today by that same coalition is certainly could brand U.S.

And I would