US judge extends block on Trump's mail-in voting order
Federal judge Indira Talwani has extended her block on Donald Trump's executive order restricting mail-in voting, issuing a stronger preliminary injunction less than two months before the midterm elections. The ruling came hours after North Carolina became the first state to begin mailing ballots.
A US federal judge has strengthened her block on President Donald Trump's executive order that sought to impose sweeping restrictions on mail-in voting, converting an earlier temporary hold into a preliminary injunction on Friday.
District Judge Indira Talwani's ruling came just hours after North Carolina became the first state to start sending out mail-in ballots for the 3 November midterm elections. In her decision, Talwani noted that plaintiff states are legally required to mail millions of ballots on a fixed schedule and can no longer adjust their procedures this late in the cycle without risking significant disenfranchisement of eligible voters.
Trump signed the order in March, calling for a nationwide list of verified eligible voters and requiring the US Postal Service to work with states to compile lists of mail-in voters ahead of elections, limiting ballot delivery to those on the lists.
The Trump administration had already appealed Talwani's earlier temporary block to the supreme court, which is expected to have the final word on the matter. USPS has told courts the technology needed to carry out the order does not yet exist, and a whistleblower from the agency recently warned of potentially catastrophic problems if implementation were attempted.
A coalition of 24 state attorneys general sued USPS after the order was signed, seeking to block it. California attorney general Rob Bonta, a co-leader of the coalition, said the ruling secures longer-term relief while the litigation continues, adding that further steps would be taken to prevent restrictions on voting rights. The order permits states to opt into the new system voluntarily, but none has done so.
Trump has long pushed to curb mail voting, despite frequently using it himself, and has repeated unsubstantiated claims that it contributed to his 2020 election defeat. Last month, the supreme court had overturned Talwani's original hold, ruling that the lawsuits were filed prematurely before USPS issued its implementation rule, though it did not address the legality of Trump's order itself. Plaintiffs refiled their suits once the rule was published.
