US federal Judge blocks Trump’s mail-ballot restrictions ahead of midterms

In a latest update, U.S. District Judge again issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from enforcing its controversial executive order and subsequent U.S. Postal Service (USPS) rules that would restrict mail-in voting.

A federal judge on Thursday blocked the USPS from implementing core parts of a new rule it adopted at President Donald Trump's direction that would tighten mail-in voting requirements ahead of the November congressional elections.

USPS issued the rule to implement an executive order the Republican president signed in March after years of Trump calling for tighter rules on voting by mail and pushing the false claim that his 2020 presidential election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden was the result of widespread voter fraud.

Under the rule, states must supply the USPS with lists of mail ballot recipients, and all outbound and return ballot envelopes must bear unique barcodes.

All 50 states allow for some form of mail-in voting, with 29 allowing voters to ask to cast ballots that way without providing a reason and eight conducting their elections entirely by mail.

Judge Talwani granted a 14-day freeze on the directive, halting requirements that would bar the USPS from delivering mail ballots to voters not on a specific federal citizen list and mandating new barcode rules for ballot envelopes.

She concluded that the executive branch and the USPS lack the constitutional authority to regulate election mail.

The restraining order Talwani issued, will remain in place  while she considers whether to issue a longer-term preliminary injunction blocking the rule.

The judge, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, plans to consider whether to do so during a September 3 hearing.

"Today’s order presses pause on an unlawful power grab that would sow chaos and confusion for the millions of voters who depend on mail ballots," Sophia Lin Lakin, a lawyer for the voting rights groups at the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.

The latest injunction follows a turbulent week in the courts. Just days prior, the U.S. Supreme Court had lifted an earlier block by Judge Talwani on procedural grounds because final USPS implementation rules hadn't yet been issued.

Once those rules were finalized, plaintiffs quickly refiled their lawsuits, prompting this new block.

As reported, the Trump administration is widely expected to appeal the decision swiftly, potentially setting up another rapid emergency review by the Supreme Court as the midterms draw closer.