A federal judge in Massachusetts has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing two major provisions of an executive order designed to crack down on mail-in voting and create lists of verified U.S. citizens eligible to vote.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled Thursday that the president lacks the authority to force federal agencies to compile citizen voter lists or to direct the Postal Service to withhold mail-in ballots from voters not appearing on state rosters. Talwani, an Obama appointee, found that the order amounted to an attempt to intimidate local election officials with threats of prosecution if they fail to use potentially flawed citizenship lists.
"Such efforts fall outside the President's Article II and otherwise-delegated authority," Talwani wrote, ordering the administration to file a status report within a week detailing its compliance steps.
The ruling represents another courtroom setback for Trump's aggressive push to reshape election administration through executive action. On Wednesday, a separate federal judge had already blocked most of the president's initial second-term executive order on elections, which required proof of citizenship to register to vote.
The White House pushed back against Talwani's decision, with spokesperson Abigail Jackson calling the order a lawful protection of American elections. "President Trump is committed to ensuring that Americans have full confidence in the administration of our elections," Jackson said in a statement, adding that the administration is "confident that we will ultimately prevail in its implementation." She declined to confirm whether an appeal would be filed.
The blocked provisions drew from a proposal by Postmaster General David Steiner, who told lawmakers Wednesday that the Postal Service would refuse to deliver mail-in ballots in states unwilling to share voter information with federal authorities. Talwani determined that Congress never granted USPS such power over voting procedures and that the agency lacks the ability to regulate mail-in voting.
Trump's focus on election law has dominated his early second term. This week, he held up signing a bipartisan housing bill in an attempt to pressure lawmakers on an unrelated measure. Massachusetts has joined a growing roster of states filing lawsuits against the mail-in voting order.
Author James Rodriguez: "This week's judicial decisions expose real legal limits on executive power over elections, yet Trump's team keeps testing those boundaries."
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