Federal judge blocks US Postal Service from implementing Trump mail-in voting restrictions

Aug 11, 2026

A federal judge in Boston has blocked the U.S. Postal Service nationwide from implementing mail-in voting restrictions under President Donald Trump's March 2026 executive order. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled that the executive branch lacks constitutional authority to regulate elections, expanding a June injunction that previously covered 23 states. The blocked rules would have allowed the USPS to refuse ballot deliveries in states failing to provide eligible voter lists. The Trump administration's appeal is currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Federal court injunction expansion

▪U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ordered the plaintiff organizations in the August 11, 2026, ruling to post a nominal $100 bond by August 18, 2026.
▪U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston issued a nationwide preliminary injunction on August 11, 2026, blocking the U.S. Postal Service from implementing mail-in voting restrictions under President Donald Trump's executive order.
▪The August 11, 2026, ruling expanded a June 2026 injunction that had blocked the U.S. Postal Service from implementing the mail-in voting restrictions in 23 mostly Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C.

Trump mail-in voting order

▪Executive Order 14399 directed the Department of Homeland Security to compile lists of eligible U.S. citizens and instructed the Department of Justice to prioritize investigations into election officials who issue federal ballots to ineligible voters.
▪President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14399 in March 2026, which directed federal agencies to establish new standards and compile voter lists to restrict mail-in voting.
▪President Donald Trump defended Executive Order 14399 as a measure to prevent illegal voting by non-U.S. citizens, claiming that mail-in voting is subject to widespread cheating.

USPS ballot delivery restrictions

▪Under Section 3 of Executive Order 14399, the U.S. Postal Service would have been authorized to refuse delivery of mail-in ballots in states that did not provide lists of eligible voters.
▪The August 11, 2026, injunction prevents the U.S. Postal Service from refusing to transmit mail-in or absentee ballots, but does not block the federal government from issuing nonbinding guidance on ballot-mail envelopes.

Constitutional authority over elections

▪In a lawsuit led by California, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Washington, states argued that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority by directing federal agencies to impose new voting requirements.
▪U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled that the executive branch has no constitutional authority to regulate elections, a responsibility that the U.S. Constitution assigns to individual states.

Supreme Court appeal pending

▪In a separate lawsuit brought by the Democratic Party in Washington, D.C., a federal judge in May 2026 declined to block the executive order because the U.S. Postal Service had not yet proposed its rule.
▪On July 25, 2026, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a Department of Justice request to pause the June 2026 injunction in a 2-1 decision.
▪The Trump administration has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to put U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani's June 2026 injunction on hold, but the Supreme Court has not yet ruled.