WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has appealed a federal judge’s decision temporarily blocking new restrictions on mail-in voting, extending a fast-moving legal battle just weeks before states begin distributing ballots for the November midterm elections.
The administration filed its appeal after U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Massachusetts halted implementation of parts of President Donald Trump’s executive order governing mail voting. The restrictions would require states to comply with new U.S. Postal Service rules before ballots could be delivered through the mail.
Under the new requirements, states would have to provide information on eligible voters and use ballot envelopes that meet standards set by the Postal Service.
Talwani blocked the measures for two weeks, finding that states could face significant logistical and financial difficulties trying to make the required changes so close to the election.
Some states are already preparing to send their first ballots. North Carolina, for example, is required to begin sending ballots to military and overseas voters on Sept. 4.
Democratic-led states and voting rights organizations have challenged the administration’s policy, arguing that the president does not have the constitutional authority to dictate how states administer elections.
The Constitution generally gives state legislatures authority over the “times, places and manner” of congressional elections while allowing Congress to alter those rules.
The White House has defended the restrictions as election-security measures. Trump has repeatedly raised concerns about mail voting and voting by noncitizens, though studies and election officials have found that voting by people who are not U.S. citizens is rare.
The dispute has already reached the Supreme Court.
Earlier this week, the court cleared a procedural obstacle that had prevented the administration from moving forward with its plans. The justices did not decide whether Trump’s restrictions themselves were constitutional, instead finding that an earlier legal challenge had been brought before the Postal Service finalized its rules.
Once those rules were issued, Democratic-led states and voting rights groups renewed their challenges.
Talwani then imposed the latest temporary block, setting up another round of appeals that could eventually return the issue to the Supreme Court.
The timing has increased the stakes of the case.
Nearly one-third of Americans cast their ballots by mail in the 2024 election, and state election officials have warned that making major changes to ballot systems shortly before voting begins could be difficult.
The legal fight is unfolding as Republicans and Democrats enter the final stretch of campaigning for the November midterms, when control of both chambers of Congress will be at stake.
A hearing on whether to impose a longer-lasting injunction against the administration’s restrictions is scheduled for Sept. 3.
