Federal judge blocks Trump's mail-in voting order
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A federal judge blocked the Trump administration Thursday from enforcing key parts of his executive order aiming to create a citizenship list of eligible voters and restricting mail-in voting.
The big picture: Fueled by unfounded claims of a rigged election, President Trump has consistently railed against and attempted to undermine mail-in voting. Thursday's decision hands the president yet another loss on his attempts to unilaterally change American elections.
Driving the news: U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani of Massachusetts barred the administration from implementing the sections of the order that instruct feds to compile lists of confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote and direct the Postmaster General to propose a rule that USPS will not transmit ballots from any people not on their state list.
- Talwani, an Obama appointee, wrote that Trump's order tried to "intimidate local election officials" into using flawed citizen lists under threat of prosecution, "such efforts fall outside the Presidents' Article II and otherwise-delegated authority."
- She further ordered the administration to file a status report within a week describing the steps they've taken to ensure compliance.
The other side: "President Trump is committed to ensuring that Americans have full confidence in the administration of our elections," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement provided to Axios.
- She argued that the order "lawfully protects our elections, and we are confident that we will ultimately prevail in its implementation."
- She wouldn't say if the administration would appeal.
Catch up quick: The postmaster general, David Steiner, confirmed to lawmakers Wednesday that under the related proposed rule, USPS would not deliver mail-in ballots in states that refuse to hand over voter information.
- Talwani determined that Congress had not delegated authority to USPS to control mail-in voting and said it lacks the ability to promulgate regulations on voting by mail.
- On Wednesday, a separate federal judge blocked Trump from implementing most of his initial second-term executive order on elections that required proof of citizenship to register to vote.
What we're watching: Trump's hyper-focus on reshaping election laws reached a fever pitch this week, when he shut down the signing of a landmark bipartisan housing bill over the unrelated SAVE America Act.
Go deeper: Mass. joins growing list of lawsuits against Trump's mail-in voting order
