Boston judge lifts nationwide block on USPS work related to Trump mail-in voting order

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston on Wednesday revoked a nationwide injunction she had issued that barred the Postal Service from carrying out the Trump administration’s executive order to limit mail-in voting for the upcoming midterm elections. The order, signed in March, directs the Postal Service to adopt new ballot envelope designs and to deliver ballots only to voters listed on absentee-voter rolls provided by states.

The judge’s reversal does not address the substantive legality of the executive order; it merely resolves a procedural matter. The Supreme Court may consider the order in a future hearing, after previously staying a similar June injunction that applied to 23 states and the District of Columbia.

The Postal Service has already published a final rule outlining the new ballot-mail requirements, but it remains uncertain how the administration’s directives will affect mail-in voting as the election approaches. Legal challenges from Democratic-led states, voting-rights groups and other plaintiffs are expected to continue.