A federal judge has put a stop to President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to establish a federal voter list and restrict who could receive ballots through the mail.
U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani, who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama, granted a summary judgment in favor of a coalition of nearly two dozen states that had challenged the order. The ruling covers this year’s midterm election cycle.
Two separate lawsuits — both brought in federal court in Boston — argued that Trump’s order was unconstitutional because the authority to set election rules belongs to the states and Congress, not the president. Judge Talwani agreed, writing in her decision that the order’s provisions “unconstitutionally violate the separation of powers.”
This was the second consecutive day that a federal court ruled against one of Trump’s election-related executive orders. On Wednesday, a separate ruling blocked an order Trump signed last year that would have required proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
The Trump administration had sought to have the lawsuits dismissed, arguing the challenges were premature and that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing under the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies create and issue regulations.
However, in a preliminary order ahead of Thursday’s ruling, Judge Talwani pushed back on those arguments. She wrote that given the executive order’s specific deadlines over the coming three months and the approach of the November 3, 2026 midterm election — just five months away — delaying a court review “is impracticable and may inflict significant hardship on Plaintiffs.” That earlier order rejected the administration’s request to dismiss the cases.
Trump’s executive order — his second targeting elections during his current term — comes amid his ongoing and unsubstantiated claims that noncitizens are voting in large numbers. In reality, states already maintain detailed procedures to keep voter rolls accurate, and noncitizen voting has consistently been found to be extremely rare. It is also a felony offense that can carry deportation as a consequence.
Trump issued the order in March after a voting overhaul bill he backed failed to advance in Congress. The order would have directed the federal government to compile a list of eligible voters and instructed the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to individuals on that list. Election administrators warned the plan was vulnerable to abuse and could create widespread confusion, while the postal workers’ union objected to the idea of mail carriers being used to police ballot delivery.
The Postal Service published a proposed rule in the Federal Register stemming from Trump’s order. Among its provisions, the rule would not apply to primary elections or ballots sent to overseas voters.
The lawsuit seeking summary judgment was brought by Democratic attorneys general from 22 states and the District of Columbia. Attorneys representing Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania — a state with a Republican attorney general — also joined the effort.
The states further argued that the order places a costly burden on election officials and could cause fear of prosecution among voters. Stephen Pezzi, an attorney for the Trump administration, countered that no one would face prosecution for violating the order.
In a related but separate lawsuit filed against the same executive order, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled in May that it was too soon to block the order since it had not yet been put into effect. That case was brought by Democratic and civil rights organizations, who have since filed an appeal.
Since losing the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden, Trump has repeatedly and without evidence claimed that mail voting is plagued by fraud. He has launched a federal investigation into that election, despite numerous audits and reviews — including those conducted by Republicans — finding no evidence of widespread fraud. Trump has also stated his desire to “take over” election administration in Democratic-leaning areas.
