A federal judge blocked Trump's mail-ballot rule again
A federal judge blocked the Trump administration's mail-ballot rule on Thursday. It is the second time a court has stopped it, and the first mail ballots for the midterms are about a week out.
Judge Indira Talwani issued a fourteen-day temporary restraining order against enforcement of the Postal Service's newly finalized rule, Fox News reported. A hearing is set for September 3.
That is where it stands. Here is how it got there.
Trump signed the executive order in March 2026. It directed the Postal Service to build a system regulating who could vote by mail, and directed states to create eligibility lists, according to Votebeat.
Section 3 of the order went further. It directed the Postal Service to create a list of eligible voters and to refuse ballots from voters who were not on it. The American Civil Liberties Union sets out that provision in its account of the separate challenge brought by the League of Women Voters coalition.
Courts blocked the order once already. The Supreme Court then found that challenge premature, on the grounds that the administration had not yet implemented the directive, and struck down one of the holds. Talwani removed the other herself.
The Postal Service then finalized its rule. It requires barcodes on mail ballots, obliges states to submit voter information through a Postal Service data portal, and calls for citizen verification data. Plaintiffs challenged it again, and Thursday's order is the result.
Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C. are suing, alongside voting-rights groups including the League of Women Voters. New York Attorney General Letitia James is a named plaintiff.
Talwani's reasoning has been the same both times, and it is not about whether the rule is lawful. It is about the clock. Votebeat quotes her finding fewer than ninety days remaining before the midterms, with states given neither the time nor the funds to design new mail ballots.
The rule has not been struck down. It has been run out of runway, twice.
By the numbers
- 14 days — the length of the temporary restraining order Judge Talwani issued on Thursday[1]
- 23 states and Washington, D.C. — suing over the rule, alongside voting-rights groups including the League of Women Voters[2]
- fewer than 90 days — remaining before the midterms, the basis of Talwani's reasoning both times[3]
- September 3 — the date of the scheduled hearing in the case[4]
The reporting
This story is built on reporting by Fox News. Read the original →
Sources
- Fox News, federal judge blocks Trump mail-ballot order before the midterms
- Votebeat, Trump executive order on mail-in voting and the Postal Service injunction
- ACLU, federal court blocks the Postal Service from implementing the executive order
Image credits
- Hero: source (Wikimedia Commons) — Yngvadottir
- In story: source (CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images, editorial use) — Caroline Brehman
