Federal judge pauses Trump administration's mail-voting order ahead of midterms
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U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a 14-day stay on the Trump administration's executive order restricting mail voting, a decision that may return to the Supreme Court.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani placed a 14-day hold on the federal government’s implementation of President Donald Trump’s executive order that would limit mail voting, a move that temporarily blocks the rule just weeks before the first absentee ballots are scheduled to be mailed for the upcoming midterm elections.
The order, issued in March, sought to give the Postal Service authority to decide which states could send mail ballots and required specific formatting of envelopes. The Postal Service has said it will not deliver ballots unless states provide a voter list and meet the new envelope specifications.
"Plaintiff states have neither time nor funds to design new mail ballots, seek approval of the new designs, order production of mail ballots, update their own election management systems, train election officials to use the USPS portal and upload citizen data to the portal, all before the midterms," Judge Talwani wrote in her ruling.
The stay follows a recent Supreme Court hearing in which the court declined to rule on the order’s legality but noted that earlier legal challenges were filed prematurely. Democrats and voting-rights groups have refiled lawsuits after the Postal Service issued a final rule outlining how it would enforce the order.
Election officials warn that nearly one-third of U.S. voters use mail ballots and that the short timeline may not allow states to adjust their systems. The administration argues the rule is within presidential authority, while opponents contend that election rules are constitutionally reserved for states and, in some cases, Congress.