Boston judge blocks key provisions of Trump administration's mail-in voting order
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A federal judge in Boston halted major parts of a presidential executive order aimed at restricting mail-in voting, citing constitutional limits on presidential authority.
A U.S. District Judge in Boston issued a ruling on Thursday that blocks significant sections of President Trump's executive order directing the Postal Service and the Department of Homeland Security to limit mail-in voting. The order, issued in March, would have required the Postal Service to deliver absentee ballots only to voters on lists compiled by federal agencies. The judge said the directives exceed the President's constitutional authority, which reserves election rules for state legislatures and Congress.
The injunction applies to the upcoming general election and to earlier contests in nearly two dozen states, most of which are led by Democratic officials, as well as Washington, D.C. The affected states include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
The Postal Service has suggested it would rely on information from state election officials to create voter lists and indicated it would not deliver ballots for states that refuse to provide absentee voter data to the federal government.
In a 37-page opinion, Judge Indira Talwani wrote that "The Constitution does not grant the President any specific powers over elections." She also concluded that the Postal Service lacks legal authority to control mail-in voting.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James, whose state challenged the order, said the decision protects voting rights, adding that the executive order would have caused disruption for states, election officials and voters.
The Trump administration has indicated it will appeal the ruling, while a separate appeal of an earlier decision by another federal judge continues in Washington, D.C.