States Win Court Battle to Halt Part of Trump’s Voting Order
In a significant legal development, a group of states, spearheaded by Arizona, successfully obtained a restraining order against a section of President Donald Trump’s executive directive concerning mail-in voting. This decision was handed down by a Massachusetts district court, temporarily preventing the implementation of parts of the order related to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).
The executive order, issued on March 31, aimed to mandate the USPS to scrutinize ballots, ensuring only mail-in ballots with unique barcodes were delivered to voters listed on approved federal registries. You can view the full order here.
States, along with the League of Women Voters, contested the order, deeming it unconstitutional. They argued that the USPS lacked both the authority and the logistical means to enforce such a directive. Despite these objections, the United States Supreme Court issued an emergency order on August 24, allowing the Trump administration to proceed with the order, stating that the states had acted prematurely in their lawsuit, as the USPS had not yet finalized its rule.
Reacting swiftly, Democratic attorneys general from the plaintiff states filed a motion to block the order once more. United States District Judge Indira Talwani emphasized the urgency of the situation in her court order, asserting, “Plaintiff States face irreparable harm where they are required to comply with a likely unconstitutional regulation for which compliance is practically impossible as to the 2026 midterm elections, now little more than two months away.”
President Trump has been a vocal opponent of mail-in voting, despite utilizing it himself. He has made unsubstantiated claims that mail-in voting lacks security and influenced the 2020 presidential election outcomes.
In Arizona, where over 80% of the electorate prefers to vote by mail, early voting is slated to begin in October. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes joined a coalition of 25 other states in challenging the executive order, as reported here. “This is a win for every Arizona voter and the rule of law,” Mayes remarked in a statement following the court’s ruling. “Arizonans have voted safely and securely by mail for decades. In a system designed by Republicans, at least three-quarters of Arizona voters choose to vote by mail. Today the court agreed that the federal government cannot upend our election system just weeks before ballots go out.”
For more information on Arizona’s voting practices, visit this page.
