A federal judge appointed by former President Barack Obama has frozen key parts of President Donald Trump’s order tightening the rules around mail-in voting, blocking the administration from enforcing them through this year’s midterm elections.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a preliminary injunction Thursday covering the Nov. 3 midterms. Judge Talwani wrote, “Sections 2 and 3 of the EO are legally void as they are ultra vires and unconstitutionally violate the separation of powers, and that Section 5 of the EO is merely precatory.”
The ruling stops federal agencies from building citizenship lists, bars new U.S. Postal Service procedures for mail ballots, and halts prioritized investigations of state election officials. The block has not interfered with voting in this year’s primary contests so far, NPR reported. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Trump To Crack Down On Mail-In Voting With New Executive Order)
Trump signed the directive March 31 under the title “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.” The order directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Postal Service to assemble rosters of eligible voters in every state, with the Postal Service delivering mail ballots only to people on those lists, NPR reported. The order also directs the attorney general to pursue anyone accused of sending ballots to ineligible voters, The Hill reported.
A federal judge in Boston blocked implementation of President Trump’s executive order aiming to tighten rules for mail-in voting, preventing it from taking force ahead of November elections that will decide control of Congress https://t.co/iMKxFPycys pic.twitter.com/NYOsXrujpx
— Reuters Legal (@ReutersLegal) June 25, 2026
Two dozen Democrat-led states and local governments filed the challenge, Bloomberg Law reported. They accuse Trump of seizing control over how states run their mail-ballot systems, an authority they argue the Constitution never handed the president. Talwani found the states would face irreparable harm if forced to overhaul their election plans before November, according to Quiver Quantitative.
The Postal Service operates independently of the White House, NPR reported. Postmaster General David Steiner told lawmakers Wednesday the agency would withhold mail ballots from any state that refuses to surrender its absentee voter records to the federal government, NPR reported.
The administration is expected to appeal, according to NPR. A separate set of lawsuits is advancing in Washington, D.C., where U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols declined to block the order in late May after finding agencies had not yet acted on it. Democrats are appealing that decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
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