A federal appeals court has halted the Trump administration's efforts to impose restrictions on mail-in voting, at least for now. The First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, in a 2-1 decision, upheld a lower court's order blocking the proposed changes in 23 states that had sued over a March executive order.
"Under the Constitution, state and local officials are responsible for administering federal elections," the majority opinion stated. The court's decision aims to prevent potential confusion and disenfranchisement of voters in the lead-up to the midterm elections.
The executive order, issued in March, had directed increased federal oversight of mail-in voting and led the U.S. Postal Service to propose a rule that would create state lists of approved voters and impose stricter regulations on mail-in ballots. According to the proposed rule, the Postal Service would refuse to deliver ballots in states that do not comply with the new federal requirements, such as turning over absentee voter lists to the federal government.
This ruling creates an uneven legal landscape, as another federal appeals court in Washington state previously lifted an injunction that had more broadly blocked the executive order. It remains uncertain if the Postal Service will attempt to implement the changes in the 27 states not covered by the First Circuit's injunction.
"I don't think anything stops them from going through with the rulemaking and enforcing the rule in the states that aren't covered by the Massachusetts injunction," Daniel Griffith, senior director of policy at Secure Democracy USA, told ABC News.
The Trump administration has not immediately responded to requests for comment, but has signaled it may appeal the case to the Supreme Court. A spokesperson for the Postal Service declined to comment on whether the agency plans to move forward with the restrictions, citing pending litigation.
Claims of widespread mail-in voting fraud have been consistently raised by President Trump, but analyses suggest such instances are rare. A November 2025 analysis by the Brookings Institution found that fraud involving mail ballots was exceptionally uncommon, estimating a rate of about four cases per 10 million mail votes across general elections from 2016 to 2022. The Heritage Foundation's database records only 387 instances of fraudulent absentee ballot use across all elections since 1982.