Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Mail Ballot Order Ahead of Midterms

<p>A federal judge on August 28, 2026, blocked President Donald Trump's executive order limiting mail-in voting, halting the directive for a second time just before the first mail ballots are expected to be sent out for the upcoming midterm elections.</p><p>U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani issued a 14-day temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the new U.S. Postal Service rule implementing the order.</p><p>The ruling is likely to be appealed and could return to the Supreme Court, following a recent procedural decision that allowed the administration to proceed.</p><p>This ruling follows lawsuits from Democrats and voting rights groups that were refiled to comply with the Supreme Court's recent decision, which did not address the legality of Trump’s order but stated that Talwani had acted prematurely.</p><p>The administration has since issued a formal rule governing how states must prepare and submit mail ballots for USPS acceptance, effectively resetting the legal battle.</p><p>The case is significant for the midterms, as nearly one-third of Americans vote by mail, and election officials have expressed concerns about the lack of time to adjust their systems to meet the new requirements.</p><p>The Postal Service stated it would not accept outbound mail ballots if states do not submit required recipient information and meet the rule’s envelope and barcode specifications.</p><p>Judge Talwani noted in her ruling, "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."</p><p>A hearing in the case is scheduled for September 3.</p><p>Democrats and voting rights advocates argue that the Postal Service rule and Trump's order are unconstitutional, asserting that the Constitution grants states and Congress the authority to establish election rules, not the president or the Postal Service. The USPS contends that the rule does not determine voter eligibility or compare submissions with state voter rolls, maintaining that states control who may vote by mail.</p><p>New York Attorney General Letitia James, representing one of the lawsuits, stated, "This rule is a clear attempt by the federal government to interfere in elections it has no power to control. Today, a federal court halted it before this administration could wreak havoc on our elections."</p><p>Trump’s initial executive order, issued last year, was blocked on similar grounds, as it sought to change election procedures by requiring additional documentation for voter registration.</p><p>Trump has criticized mail-in voting, attributing it to his 2020 election loss to former President Joe Biden, despite using mail-in voting himself as a registered voter in Florida.</p><p>A report by the Brookings Institution indicated that mail-in voting fraud was recorded in approximately four cases out of every 10 million mail ballots cast, contradicting claims of widespread election fraud.</p><p>Trump's executive order targeting mail-in voting was issued in March, leading to various legal challenges. In a separate case, a federal judge in Washington declined to block the order earlier this year, citing the challenge as premature.</p><p>The Supreme Court recently struck down one of the holds against the order, after which Talwani lifted the second injunction, prompting plaintiffs to refile their challenges based on the Postal Service’s final rule publication.</p><p><i>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</i></p>