A federal judge has temporarily blocked an executive order from President Donald Trump that aimed to limit mail voting, issuing a 14-day hold on the directive just weeks before the midterm elections. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani issued the injunction, which stalls the order for a second time.
The ruling comes as election officials argue there is insufficient time to redesign mail ballots and update systems to comply with new Postal Service directives before the midterms. The Postal Service has stated it will not deliver mail ballots unless states provide a list of recipients and format envelopes in a specific manner. Plaintiffs, including Democrats and voting rights groups, contend these demands are unconstitutional, asserting that election rules are granted to states and Congress, not the president or the Postal Service.
Talwani wrote in her ruling that "Plaintiff states have neither time nor funds to design new mail ballots, seek approval of the new designs, order production of mail ballots, update their own election management systems, train election officials to use the USPS portal and upload citizen data to the portal, all before the midterms."
This latest development is part of an ongoing legal battle. The Supreme Court had previously overturned an earlier ruling by Talwani that had blocked Trump's order. At that time, the Supreme Court stated the legal challenges were filed too soon. However, the administration has since issued a formal rule governing the Postal Service's handling of mail ballots, effectively restarting the legal conflict.
Democrats and voting rights groups refiled their lawsuits to comply with the Supreme Court's decision and an upcoming Sept. 3 hearing. The Supreme Court's conservative majority did not rule on the legality of the executive order itself, but rather on the timing of the legal challenges.
Mail voting is used by nearly one-third of Americans. The executive order targeting mail voting is the second related to elections issued by Trump since he left office. Trump has frequently criticized mail voting, falsely blaming it for his 2020 election loss, despite using the method himself. Data from a 2025 Brookings Institution report indicated that mail voting fraud occurred in approximately four cases out of every 10 million mail ballots cast.
Opponents initially sued after the order was issued in March, but the administration argued the claims were premature. An initial case in Washington, D.C., favored the administration on this point. However, Talwani placed injunctions in two separate cases in Boston. The Supreme Court's decision to strike down one of those holds was based on the prematurity of the legal challenge. After Talwani removed the second injunction, plaintiffs refiled their cases, citing the Postal Service's publication of its final rule, seeking a more definitive legal victory. It is anticipated that the case may again reach the Supreme Court.