Judge Blocks the Postal Service From Carrying Out Trump's Mail-Voting Order With Under 90 Days to the Midterms

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani granted a preliminary injunction on Aug. 11, 2026 barring the Postal Service from implementing President Trump's March executive order on elections during this year's midterms. The order would have had the federal government build a list of eligible voters and directed the Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to people on it. Ruling for the League of Women Voters and other groups, Talwani wrote that "the executive branch has no authority to regulate elections" and that it being "less than 90 days before the November 3, 2026 midterm elections underscores the critical need for an injunction." She noted the administration has declined to defend the order's constitutionality, and had already granted summary judgment against it on June 25.

The ruling adds a second, independent block, so vacating the earlier injunction would not by itself let the policy take effect. It lands while the administration's application to lift the lower-court blocks is pending at the Supreme Court, sharpening a dispute over whether elections are run by the states and Congress or the executive branch.

The injunction is preliminary and appealable. A separate Washington challenge was held premature in July, leaving the circuits split.