<p>A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on Thursday to block for 14 days President Donald Trump’s efforts to limit mail-in voting requirements in the name of election security.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, appointed by former President Obama, issued the order blocking parts of the U.S. Postal Service’s newly implemented rule regarding mail-in voting. Democratic plaintiffs argue that the new measures exceed executive authority and restrict mail-in voting. Talwani stated that the temporary restraining order will prevent the rules from going into effect for two weeks for all elections on November 3, 2026, just before the general midterm election season.</p>
<p>In her 11-page order, Talwani indicated that the restraint applies to sections of the rule that mandate envelope standards for ballots, require state registration and voter enrollment on the USPS’s federal mail-in ballot portal, and prohibit states from sending ballots to voters who do not comply with the new standards.</p>
<p>Judge Talwani noted that voters face a “significant risk of disenfranchisement” if they cannot comply with the new rule’s guidelines before Election Day. She based her temporary order on the likelihood of success on the merits and the “grave” risk of irreparable harm to U.S. voters.</p>
<p>“The USPS’s interest in correcting an unsubstantiated problem through likely unconstitutional means is dwarfed by the overwhelming risk of pervasive disenfranchisement of citizens who need access to mail ballots in order to vote. The balance of harms and public interest warrants a TRO,” Talwani wrote.</p>
<p>This ruling is part of an ongoing legal saga stemming from President Trump’s executive order aimed at “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” signed in March.</p>
<p>After Talwani initially blocked parts of the order in July, the Supreme Court ruled that her order was premature, as it was based on USPS’s proposed rule, not a finalized rule. However, after USPS finalized its regulation this week, 24 states refiled a lawsuit over the rule. Talwani ruled on Wednesday that USPS had defied her preliminary injunction from August 11 when it issued the final rule but did not block its publication then.</p>