A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a block on the Trump administration's restrictions on mail-in voting, leaving the rules frozen as the Supreme Court considers whether to step in ahead of November's midterm elections.
Three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit agreed with U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, who had barred the U.S. Postal Service from carrying out President Donald Trump's executive order on mail ballots.
What the order would do
The executive order directs the Postal Service to withhold mail ballots from states that do not hand over lists of voters who should receive them. It also ties the agency to a federal voter database built by the Department of Homeland Security, which Congress has not authorized.
Talwani wrote that there was "no evidence relating to fraudulent mail voting" to support the directive. The judge, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, has blocked the order three times during the litigation.
The Supreme Court overturned her first block on Aug. 24, ruling that she had no authority to decide a suit brought by Democratic-led states before the Postal Service had put the order into effect. She then issued a temporary hold that was due to expire Sept. 10, and extended it in her latest order.
A fast-moving legal fight
Lawyers for large coalitions of Democratic-led states and voting rights groups argued against the rule at a two-hour hearing in Boston, while lawyers for the Postal Service and a smaller group of Republican-led states defended it.
The American Civil Liberties Union and groups including the League of Women Voters welcomed the ruling, saying election rules must be set by the Constitution and by law rather than through executive action.
Trump has long claimed without substantive evidence that mail voting is riddled with fraud, even though he has voted by mail himself. The ruling is expected to set off another round of appeals as states prepare for the November election.