Judge Issues New Block on USPS Plan for Trump Mail-Voting Order

A federal judge in Boston on Thursday issued a new 14-day temporary restraining order blocking the U.S. Postal Service from carrying out new requirements tied to President Trump's executive order restricting mail-in voting ahead of the midterm election.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani's order effectively reestablishes a nationwide block on the Postal Service's plan. She is expected to decide whether to extend the block after a hearing scheduled for September 3.

The ruling sets the stage for another possible Supreme Court review of the executive order. The high court has so far ruled only on a procedural question and has not addressed the legality of Trump's directive.

In that earlier ruling, the Supreme Court halted a similar June order from Talwani that had applied only to the 23 mostly Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C., that sued over the policy. The justices found Talwani had acted before the Postal Service issued a finalized plan.

In her new order, Talwani cited that same reasoning in agreeing to cancel her August 11 nationwide ruling, which had also come before the Postal Service released its final rule on August 21. That rule's most contested provision would deliver mail-in ballots only to voters on absentee lists that states must hand over to the agency, as Trump's order requires.

Trump, who has voted by mail himself in Florida, has said the order — signed in March — is meant to stop illegal voting by noncitizens, something numerous studies and audits have found to be extremely rare.

Challengers argue the order oversteps presidential authority, since the Constitution gives states and Congress the power to set federal election rules, and that the Postal Service has no authority over mail-in voting procedures.

It remains unclear how Trump's directive will ultimately affect mail voting for the midterms, which is set to begin in a matter of weeks. The lawsuit, along with related cases from Democrats, voting rights groups and roughly two dozen mostly Democratic-led states, is expected to continue, with challengers also seeking a new ruling from a federal judge in Washington, D.C.