Federal judge rejects Trump request to lift block on mail-voting changes

A federal judge in Massachusetts has rejected the Trump administration’s request to lift a temporary block on new restrictions for voting by mail.

Judge Indira Talwani said the order could not be appealed immediately because she had already set an accelerated schedule. A hearing on whether the suspension should continue is scheduled for Sept. 3, leaving the block in effect for now.

The order prevents the U.S. Postal Service from imposing the disputed requirements, which concern the format of ballot envelopes and voter information. The challenge targets a final USPS regulation and an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in March.

Trump’s order conditions the mailing of ballots on voters appearing on lists prepared in advance by federal agencies. It directs the Department of Homeland Security to compile lists of U.S. citizens of voting age in all 50 states, while USPS must prepare another list of voters eligible to receive ballots by mail.

Twenty-three states, the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania’s governor filed a lawsuit against the measure. Civil-rights organizations have also challenged the order. The administration has justified the changes as a way to prevent electoral fraud, while analysts and experts cited in the report say cases of election fraud in the United States are insignificant.