Obama-Appointed Judge Extends Block on Trump Mail-In Voting Rules Ahead of Midterms
An Obama-appointed federal judge extended her block on the Trump administration’s new mail-in voting requirements Friday, delivering another setback to President Donald Trump’s effort to tighten procedures ahead of the November midterm elections.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a preliminary injunction preventing the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing key portions of its new ballot-mail rule.
The ruling replaces a temporary restraining order Talwani issued last week and could keep the administration’s new requirements from taking effect as states begin sending absentee ballots to voters.
North Carolina began mailing its first ballots Friday, with other states preparing to follow as the Nov. 3 elections rapidly approach.
The disputed Postal Service rule was developed in response to an executive order Trump signed in March aimed at strengthening citizenship verification and election integrity requirements.
Under the new system, state and local election officials would be required to submit ballot-envelope designs to the Postal Service and upload voter information through a federal online portal.
Ballot envelopes would also be required to contain unique tracking barcodes. The Postal Service could refuse to mail ballots when election officials failed to meet the new requirements.
Talwani concluded that the Postal Service likely lacks the authority to impose those conditions on states.
The judge argued that the Constitution gives states primary responsibility for administering elections while allowing Congress to override certain state election rules through legislation.
“The executive has no inherent authority” over election procedures, Talwani wrote, concluding that Congress had not delegated such power to the Postal Service.
Talwani also focused heavily on the rapidly approaching midterms, arguing that forcing states to overhaul their election systems at this stage could result in eligible voters being unable to cast ballots.
States would potentially have to redesign and reprint ballot envelopes, modify election-management systems, train election workers and upload voter information into a Postal Service portal that is still being developed.
The judge said it was “implausible” that thousands of election jurisdictions could successfully complete those changes before voting begins across the country.
Supporters of Trump’s changes have rejected claims that the requirements are excessively burdensome, arguing that the Postal Service is establishing reasonable standards for handling sensitive election mail and improving ballot tracking and security.
Critics contend the administration is attempting to impose federal control over election procedures traditionally administered by states and warn that implementation immediately before a major election could create confusion.
The legal battle has already reached the Supreme Court once.
The high court recently overturned an earlier injunction issued by Talwani, but the justices did not rule that Trump’s policy was legal. Instead, the court concluded that the earlier lawsuits had been filed prematurely because the Postal Service had not yet finalized its implementing rule.
Once the Postal Service released its final rule, Democratic-led states and voting-rights organizations quickly returned to court with renewed challenges.
The Trump administration is continuing to fight the latest injunction and has already indicated that it will appeal Talwani’s ruling to the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The administration has also sought emergency intervention from the Supreme Court as it races against the election calendar.
With mail ballots already beginning to go out, the dispute is becoming increasingly time-sensitive. Unless a higher court intervenes, Talwani’s latest order will prevent the mandatory portions of Trump’s new Postal Service ballot rules from being enforced during the upcoming midterms.