A federal judge in Boston on Thursday blocked implementation of President Donald Trump's executive order aiming to tighten rules for mail-in voting, preventing it from taking effect ahead of November elections that will decide control of Congress.
Judge Rules President Exceeded Authority
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani sided with a coalition of Democratic-led states that argued the Republican president is trying to unlawfully interfere with states' administration of federal elections. "The Constitution does not grant the President any specific powers over elections," Talwani wrote.
The judge, appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama, concluded that Trump's order violated the U.S. Constitution and that the president had exceeded his authority in trying to overhaul election procedures, which since 1789 have been run by states and local governments. She said the president lacked authority to compile voter lists for each state and that the U.S. Postal Service lacked statutory authorization to adopt binding regulations on mail-in voting.
Background of the Executive Order
Trump signed the order on March 31 after a years-long campaign to undermine faith in U.S. elections, including the false claim that his 2020 election defeat resulted from widespread voter fraud. He has called for tighter rules on voting by mail.
The order directed the Department of Homeland Security to compile and transmit to states a list of confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote, derived from citizenship and naturalization records and other federal databases. Talwani noted that any list would be incomplete due to privacy restrictions on sharing sensitive personal data collected by government agencies.
The order also required the USPS to deliver ballots only to voters on each state's approved mail-in ballot list. USPS recently moved to implement this by issuing proposed rules requiring states to provide names and barcodes tied to mail-in ballots. Additionally, the order directed the Department of Justice to prioritize investigating and prosecuting state and local election officials who issue federal ballots to people deemed "not eligible" to vote.
Legal and Political Context
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Talwani's ruling came after a different jurist, Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington, D.C., declined to issue a preliminary injunction in a related lawsuit by Democrats challenging the order. Nichols found the request premature as the order had yet to be implemented. The Democrats are appealing.
Trump has made winning approval of a divisive package of national voting restrictions his top priority. On Wednesday, he stunned lawmakers by abruptly canceling a signing ceremony where they hoped to showcase newly passed bipartisan legislation to address the high cost of housing.
U.S. Postmaster General David Steiner told Congress Wednesday that under the USPS proposal, the agency would not deliver ballots in states where officials refuse to provide lists of voters who received mailed ballots, but said he would comply with any court order blocking restrictions.
