A federal judge appointed by former President Barack Obama has blocked a Trump administration executive order that aimed to establish a federal voter registration list and impose new restrictions on mail-in voting. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled on Thursday that President Donald Trump does not have the authority to set election rules, as that power belongs to Congress and individual states.
The executive order, EO 14248, issued in March, directed the creation of a federal voter registration list and aimed to prevent noncitizens from registering to vote or casting ballots in federal elections. It also sought to impose stricter requirements for mail-in ballots.
The ruling by Talwani, who sits on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, prevents the administration from enforcing these provisions ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. The lawsuit challenging the order was brought by a coalition of states, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with 22 other states, the District of Columbia, and various voting rights organizations.
In her decision, Talwani wrote that the Constitution grants the authority to set election rules to Congress and the states, not the White House, and that Trump's order attempted to change existing rules through executive action rather than enforce them. This decision follows a similar ruling earlier in the week by another Obama-appointed judge, U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper, who also found that the executive order exceeded the president's authority.
Judge Casper's decision blocked provisions that would have required documentary proof of citizenship for federal voter registration, altered rules for military and overseas voters, and allowed for withholding federal election funding from states that did not adhere to specific federal guidelines, such as counting ballots received after Election Day.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson stated that President Trump remains committed to election integrity and is confident the administration will ultimately prevail in implementing the order. The administration has also urged Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which proposes a uniform standard for photo ID voting, prohibits no-excuse mail-in voting, and seeks to end ballot harvesting. Trump had previously tied his support for other legislative measures to the passage of the SAVE Act.