Federal judge blocks Trump's mail-in voting executive order ahead of November midterms

The executive order

On March 31 President Trump signed an order directing the Department of Homeland Security to compile a list of confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote, derived from citizenship and naturalization records. It required the Postal Service to deliver mail-in ballots only to individuals on each state's approved list and instructed the Justice Department to prioritise investigations of election officials who issue ballots to people deemed ineligible. Trump has long claimed, falsely, that his 2020 defeat was caused by widespread voter fraud and that mail voting enables it.

Legal challenges

Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia, joined by voting rights groups and the Democratic National Committee, sued the administration. They argued the order is unconstitutional, that the president lacks authority over the administration of federal elections, and that states would be forced into a rushed overhaul likely to disenfranchise legitimate voters. A parallel case before Trump-appointed Judge Carl Nichols in Washington, D.C., earlier declined to issue a preliminary injunction, finding the challenge premature; that decision is under appeal.

The ruling

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, an Obama appointee, on Thursday blocked major provisions of the order, ruling that the Postal Service has no constitutional or statutory authority to create binding regulations on voting by mail. The injunction prevents the administration from enforcing the order while litigation proceeds, effectively sidelining the new rules for the November midterms. The decision is a setback for the president's broader effort to restrict mail-in ballots.

USPS moves and Senate scrutiny

On Wednesday the Postal Service issued a public notice of proposed rule-making that would require states to submit a voter manifest with names, addresses and barcode identifiers at least 30 days before an election. Ballots not matching the federal database would be rejected. That same day Postmaster General David Steiner testified before the Senate homeland security committee, where Democrats questioned the legality of the plan.

There is nowhere in the constitution and no federal law that the postal service is authorized to create these types of voter databases, verification systems or mandatory standards. It simply does not exist.

Steiner responded that states would want such information to ensure ballots are sent correctly.