US judge declines immediate injunction on Trump’s mail-in voting order
District Court ruling leaves door open for future litigation once specific rules are implemented, amid tight congressional race and parallel legal battles in Boston.
A United States federal judge has declined to issue an immediate injunction against President Donald Trump’s executive order tightening mail-in voting rules, ruling that the legal challenge brought by Democrats and civil rights groups was premature. US District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, determined that because the administration is still developing the specific rules and procedures to enforce the order, any potential harms to voters are too speculative to warrant immediate judicial intervention.
The executive order directs the Department of Homeland Security to compile lists of confirmed US citizens eligible to vote in each state and requires the United States Postal Service to send mail-in ballots only to voters included on these state-specific lists. Judge Nichols stated that while the court recognises the potential for future actions by federal agencies to directly affect plaintiffs, the case was not yet ready for judicial review until those specific measures are finalised.
Critics argue the move is unconstitutional, asserting that the authority to set election rules rests with states and Congress rather than the president. Voting rights groups have warned that the directive relies on potentially inaccurate federal databases, which could improperly exclude legally registered voters due to errors or outdated information. They also contend that placing excessive responsibility on the Postal Service, which does not directly administer elections, could create confusion and disruption close to the November midterm elections.
The ruling occurs as the Republican Party faces a tight battle to maintain control of both chambers of Congress in the upcoming November elections. Mail-in voting has expanded significantly across the US since the pandemic, with roughly one-third of all ballots cast by mail in the 2024 election. Eight states currently conduct elections almost entirely by post, reporting some of the country’s strongest election-integrity metrics, despite the administration’s claims that the system perpetuates electoral fraud.
A separate coalition of Democratic-led states has filed a similar complaint in a federal court in Boston, Massachusetts. US District Judge Indira Talwani is scheduled to hear arguments in that case on June 2. Additionally, the administration is appealing rulings by three federal judges who previously blocked a different executive order issued by Trump last year, which required voters to prove US citizenship and barred states from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day.
