A federal appeals court has upheld a lower-court ruling blocking key parts of an executive order from President Trump designed to restrict voting by mail. According to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the directive attempts to impose “unprecedented levels of involvement by federal officials in how states administer elections.”
First Circuit Court Blocks Executive Order on Mail Voting
The 20-page ruling issued by the First Circuit panel emphasizes that implementing the executive order ahead of the midterm elections “would sow confusion and threaten disenfranchisement of many eligible voters.” Under the United States Constitution, authority over elections belongs strictly to individual states and Congress, rather than the executive branch, according to the court.
The legal challenge originated after more than 20 Democratic attorneys general filed lawsuits against the executive order, which President Trump signed in March. The contested directive instructed the Department of Homeland Security to compile state-by-state lists of citizens to evaluate voter eligibility. By June, the Postal Service had already moved forward by releasing a proposed rule aligning with those administration demands.
Judicial Breakdown and Lower Court History
Gelpí and Judge Julie Rikelman, both appointees of President Biden, who upheld a June ruling by a federal judge in Massachusetts that struck down core components of the order as “unlawful, null and void.”
Judge Joshua D. Dunlap, a Trump appointee, concurred in part with his colleagues on the three-judge panel. In a separate opinion, Judge Dunlap characterized the case as “unusual” and acknowledged that the rules had not yet been finalized—a factor typically required before bringing a lawsuit. However, Judge Dunlap noted that the executive order still posed a threat of “concrete injury” to legal voting.
The litigation previously faced procedural hurdles regarding timing. Initially, a federal judge in Washington declined to halt the executive order in May because it had not yet been executed. The stance shifted when a federal judge in Massachusetts blocked the measure as the administration began putting the directives into action. The appeals court noted that the government’s own acknowledgment of its progress in carrying out the directives undermined claims that the states filed their legal challenges prematurely.
Broader Legal Context and Next Steps
The decision represents the latest development in a long-standing series of legal battles over mail-in ballots. President Trump has frequently criticized mail voting through executive actions, supporting court challenges, and promoting legislation, despite using the voting method himself. While courts have repeatedly blocked similar attempts.
Supreme Court.
Worth a look