A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the U.S. Postal Service’s proposed restrictions on mail-in voting, finding that they violated a settlement with a leading civil rights group that required expedited mail-in ballot handling. The decision by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan marked the second court defeat in two weeks for efforts to restrict mail-in voting ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated, without providing evidence, that mail-in voting is prone to fraud. This assertion is a key part of his campaign to undermine confidence in U.S. elections, alongside the unsubstantiated claim that his 2020 election defeat was the result of widespread voter fraud.

The Postal Service had proposed a rule in May requiring states to provide lists of voters and adopt new balloting procedures before the mail agency would make deliveries. Under the proposed rule, the Postal Service would have refused to deliver ballots if states did not comply.

Sullivan sided with the NAACP civil rights group, which argued that the new rule would conflict with a 2021 legal settlement mandating that USPS officials take “extraordinary measures” to ensure timely delivery of ballot mail through 2028. Sullivan, appointed to the bench by Democratic President Bill Clinton, prevented the Postal Service from implementing the proposed regulations.

These regulations stemmed from a March executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security to compile a list of eligible U.S. citizens and requiring the USPS to only deliver ballots to voters on each state’s approved mail-in ballot list. In a separate ruling on June 25, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani blocked Trump from implementing the entire executive order before the midterms. Talwani ruled that Trump had exceeded his authority in attempting to overhaul election procedures, which have historically been managed by states and local governments.

Neither the USPS nor the Justice Department, which represents the administration in court, immediately responded to requests for comment.