A Judge Just Blocked Trump's Mail-In Voting Rules Nationwide. Here's What's Going On.
A federal judge ruled on August 11, 2026, that the U.S. Postal Service cannot carry out President Trump's mail-in voting order in any state, expanding a block that previously covered only 23 states and Washington, D.C.
The ruling comes from U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Massachusetts. In June 2026, she had blocked the order in the 23 Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C., that sued over it. Her new ruling extends that block to all 50 states. (NPR)
Trump's executive order tells the Postal Service to gather lists of eligible voters from states and deliver mail-in ballots only to people on those lists. Talwani found that groups challenging the order are likely to prove it goes beyond what a president can do under the Constitution. She also said the order is causing confusion among voters. (NPR)
Think of it this way: the order asks the Postal Service, which delivers the mail, to decide who gets a ballot and who does not. Talwani's ruling says that job belongs to states and election officials, not the postal system.
Talwani was nominated by former President Barack Obama. The Washington State Attorney General co-led the lawsuit on behalf of the 23-state coalition. (NPR; Washington State Attorney General)
Trump has said the order is meant to stop non-U.S. citizens from voting illegally. Multiple studies have found that this happens very rarely. (NPR)
Voting rights groups filed a renewed request on July 21, 2026, to block the order, calling it unconstitutional and unlawful. (ACLU) The Brennan Center for Justice said in an April 2026 analysis that the Postal Service has no legal authority to determine voter eligibility and that the order would block eligible citizens from voting. (Brennan Center for Justice)
Different courts have reached different conclusions. On July 25, 2026, an appeals court ruled that Trump cannot put the order into effect. That order required people to prove citizenship when registering to vote and restricted how mail-in ballots are counted. (Reuters) A federal judge had also previously ruled that parts of the order are unconstitutional. (Reuters)
But in a separate case in Washington, D.C., a different appeals court allowed the Postal Service to move forward with the order on July 17, 2026, pausing a block from U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan. (Democracy Docket)
Trump asked the Supreme Court on August 3, 2026, to lift the block on his order. (Votebeat) As of August 11, the Supreme Court had not yet ruled on Talwani's June injunction. (NPR)
The bigger picture is that courts are split on Trump's order, and the Supreme Court has not yet weighed in. Talwani's expanded ruling means the Postal Service cannot carry out the voter-list and ballot-delivery rules in any state while the lawsuit continues. What happens next depends on the Supreme Court: if it lifts the block, the order could take effect. If it does not, the rules stay on hold until higher courts finish reviewing the case.
