Judge Blocks Trump’s Mail-In Voting Restrictions Nationwide

An election official checks ballots in Minnesota, in this file photograph. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Jill McLaughlin

Jill McLaughlin is an award-winning journalist covering politics, environment, and statewide issues. She has been a reporter and editor for newspapers in Oregon, Nevada, and New Mexico. Jill was born in Yosemite National Park and enjoys the majestic outdoors, traveling, golfing, and hiking.

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August 11, 2026Updated: August 11, 2026

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A federal judge in Boston on Aug. 11 expanded a court-ordered block on President Donald Trump’s executive order to tighten mail-in voting rules ahead of the midterm elections, banning the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from carrying out the president’s directives nationwide.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani had previously ordered only 23 states and the District of Columbia to restrict Trump’s orders.

The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts asked the judge to expand the court’s ban nationwide. Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on July 27 to lift the lower court order’s initial ban.

Talwani blocked a section of Trump’s order that directs the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to compile lists of voting-age U.S. citizens in each state, and another section that directs the USPS to develop standards for mail-in and absentee ballots to be used in federal elections.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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