Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Mail-In Ballot Restriction Plan

On June 25, a federal judge issued a ruling barring the United States Postal Service from withholding mail-in ballots from states that refuse to turn over their full voter rolls to the federal government. The court decision delivers a major setback to Donald Trump’s push to seize expanded federal control over U.S. elections, which are traditionally administered by individual state governments.

Earlier that March, Trump signed an executive order directing the Postal Service to restrict which voters can receive ballots by mail. The order marked a sharp escalation of the Trump administration’s broader effort to flex federal authority over election processes, a core responsibility long reserved for U.S. states. Trump had previously pledged to “get rid of mail-in ballots”, a position tied to his unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a preliminary injunction Thursday that blocks the administration’s plan to create a federally vetted list of voters cleared to receive mail-in ballots. In her written opinion, Talwani noted that the U.S. Constitution “reserves the power to determine voter eligibility to the States alone”, adding that neither Congress nor the executive branch holds the legal authority to interfere in this state function.

A coalition of 23 states had sued the Trump administration over the executive order, and ultimately secured a full victory in Thursday’s ruling. While the state coalition claimed a key win ahead of November’s high-stakes midterm elections, the Trump administration is widely expected to launch an appeal challenging the unfavorable ruling.

“The Constitution does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,” wrote Talwani, a judicial appointee of former President Barack Obama.

Unsurprisingly, Trump rejects this interpretation of federal authority. Last year, the former president claimed on his social platform Truth Social that states act merely as an “agent for the Federal Government” when counting and tabulating election votes.