Judge widens block on Trump order limiting mail-in ballot delivery

A federal judge in Massachusetts on Tuesday expanded an injunction barring the U.S. Postal Service from taking steps to implement part of a Trump executive order that sought to restrict mail-in voting. District Court Judge Indira Talwani had ruled in June that the administration lacks authority to impose new mandates on states over mail-voting eligibility, but that earlier ruling applied only to the 23 states and the District of Columbia that had sued.

The executive order had directed states to compile "citizenship lists" and ordered USPS to deliver ballots only to people on those lists. The Trump administration argued courts should not intervene yet because USPS had not finalized a regulation implementing the order, but Talwani rejected that argument, saying moving forward would cause irreparable harm to plaintiffs including the League of Women Voters, with less than 90 days remaining before the midterms.

Talwani wrote that voters who rely on mail balloting "require clarity as to how or whether they will vote in November," and that allowing the rule to proceed would create "confusion and uncertainty." League of Women Voters official Marcia Johnson called the ruling "a victory for voters and for the Constitution," while ACLU Voting Rights Project director Sophia Lin Lakin said it sends a message to an administration she said continues "to weaponize portions of the government to sow chaos into our elections."

The administration is expected to seek reversal from the Supreme Court.

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