Judge Lets Mail Voting Suit Proceed, Calling Trump Order Unconstitutional Ahead of Aug. 7 Hearing
Updated
Updated · Democracy Docket · Jul 23
Judge Lets Mail Voting Suit Proceed, Calling Trump Order Unconstitutional Ahead of Aug. 7 Hearing
3 articles · Updated · Democracy Docket · Jul 23
Summary
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani refused to dismiss a challenge to Donald Trump’s mail-voting executive order, saying disenfranchisement before the upcoming election is “plausibly likely and imminent.”
The order would require states to give USPS lists of voters requesting mail ballots and use voter-linked barcodes on ballot envelopes, with the Postal Service rejecting ballots for unlisted voters or envelopes without barcodes.
Talwani said the Constitution gives election-regulation power to state legislatures and Congress, not the president, and wrote that Congress never authorized USPS to withhold certain mail ballots.
The ruling keeps constitutional and Voting Rights Act claims alive, though Talwani dismissed an Administrative Procedure Act claim and set briefing on a renewed injunction request before an Aug. 7 hearing.
Talwani has already blocked the order in 22 states and Washington, D.C., after a separate nationwide injunction was suspended by a Washington appellate court pending appeal.
Can presidential orders legally reshape election rules set by state legislatures and Congress?
What new hurdles might mail-in voters face under the proposed federal ballot system?
How would new federal rules transform the Postal Service's traditional role in state-run elections?
Judicial Showdown Over Trump’s 2026 Election Executive Orders: Legal Battles, State Resistance, and the Future of Mail-In Voting
Overview
President Trump’s recent executive orders on federal elections, starting in March 2025, aimed to require proof of citizenship for voter registration and restrict mail-in ballots, but federal courts blocked key provisions. Despite these setbacks, the administration pushed to identify non-citizens using federal data, which led to errors and concerns about eligible voters being wrongly removed. A second executive order in March 2026 sought to make the U.S. Postal Service a regulator of state mail-ballot programs, sparking major legal challenges. Judges have ruled that these actions overstep executive authority, leaving the future of mail-in voting and federal election control uncertain.