A federal judge in Boston has blocked key parts of President Donald Trump’s March executive order that sought to impose new limits on mail-in voting and create a nationwide list of eligible voters using federal citizenship data. The ruling, issued June 25 by Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, prevents the administration from enforcing the directives for the November midterms in the two dozen Democratic-led states and jurisdictions that challenged the order.
Talwani found that no federal law authorizes the government to build the type of voter database outlined in the order or to use the threat of criminal prosecution to pressure state and local election officials into using it. The March order directed the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration to compile a national list of potentially eligible voters based on citizenship information and share it with states. It also called for new design standards for mail ballot envelopes and directed the U.S. Postal Service to create its own list of voters eligible to receive mail ballots.
The judge wrote that there was no US law that authorized the federal government to create the type of voter databases Trump had called for and to use the threat of criminal prosecution to “intimidate” state and local officials into using those lists. -Bloomberg
The decision - which came one day after Postmaster General David Steiner told lawmakers that the USPS will no longer deliver mail-in ballots in states that refuse to provide voter data - adds to the legal obstacles facing the administration’s election-related initiatives as officials race to implement changes before the midterms. Challengers argued the order represented an improper federal intrusion into state-run elections and risked disrupting preparations and disenfranchising eligible voters. The administration has maintained that the steps are needed to strengthen election integrity and address concerns about fraud.
The U.S. Postal Service has been developing a proposed rule, required under the same March executive order, that would condition delivery of mail ballots on states providing lists of eligible absentee voters to the federal government. Steiner described the measure as a way to ensure ballots reach only eligible voters. Democratic lawmakers criticized the proposal as an overreach into state election authority. The rule is undergoing public comment and faces its own legal challenges.
Trump, meanwhile, has also pushed Republican lawmakers to pass legislation containing proof-of-citizenship and other voting restrictions, including the SAVE Act. During a fiery June 24 meeting with Senate Republicans, he declined to sign a bipartisan housing bill until Congress advances the voting measures. The closed-door session highlighted tensions within the party, though Republican leaders emphasized the need for unity ahead of the midterms. Trump and his allies argue that stronger verification requirements are essential to maintain public confidence in elections.
The order comes one day after another Obama-appointed federal judge in Boston blocked key portions of President Donald Trump’s executive order overhauling federal election procedures, ruling that the president exceeded his constitutional authority by attempting to impose new voting requirements without congressional approval.
U.S. District Judge Denise Casper concluded that the Constitution gives primary authority over elections to the states and Congress, not the executive branch. The ruling makes permanent a preliminary injunction Casper issued last year in a lawsuit filed by Democratic attorneys general from 19 states.