A federal judge in Massachusetts has blocked the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing part of President Donald Trump’s mail-in ballot order ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday that stops the USPS from carrying out Section 3 of Executive Order 14399 for the Nov. 3 midterms or for any earlier federal election.
The ruling bars the Postal Service from refusing to deliver mail-in or absentee ballots under the challenged section and prevents rulemaking tied to those election-year changes. It does not stop the federal government from offering nonbinding USPS guidance on ballot-mail envelopes. Talwani had already held a hearing on Friday on the plaintiffs’ renewed request for emergency relief, and the Trump administration is expected to appeal the decision to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.
Trump signed the executive order in March as part of his election integrity agenda. The order directs the Department of Homeland Security to compile lists of confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote and share them with states. It also tells the USPS to set new standards for mail-in ballots and orders the Justice Department to put priority on investigations of state and local election officials who issue federal ballots to people deemed ineligible to vote. Trump defended the issue in blunt terms, saying, “Cheating on mail-in voting is legendary. It’s horrible. Democrats want to use it for cheating.”
Tuesday’s decision comes after another setback for the administration at the 1st Circuit. Weeks earlier, the appeals court rejected an effort to enforce other parts of the order while a separate challenge continues. In a 2-1 ruling on July 25, the court turned down the Justice Department’s request to pause a June order blocking several provisions of Trump’s directive in 23 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia. That earlier case was led by California, Massachusetts, Nevada and Washington.
