A federal appeals court dealt a significant blow to the White House on Saturday, ruling that President Donald Trump cannot move forward with an executive order designed to tighten mail-in voting rules across twenty three states. The decision by the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals keeps in place a previous injunction issued by a lower court judge, who determined that central portions of the president’s directive were unconstitutional. This legal battle comes at a critical juncture as officials prepare for November elections that will determine which party controls Congress.

The administration had attempted to pause the lower court’s ruling, arguing through the Department of Justice that challenges to the order were premature since government agencies had not yet finalized the implementation policies. However, the appeals court rejected this logic in a two to one ruling. The judges noted that the executive order established strict, fast approaching deadlines that forced states to act immediately to ensure both officials and the public understood how to navigate changing rules before September and November polls open.

At its core, the March executive order sought to drastically alter how ballots are handled and verified. It directed the Department of Homeland Security to create citizen eligibility lists for states and ordered the U.S. Postal Service to restrict ballot deliveries only to those on approved lists. Furthermore, it tasked the Department of Justice with prioritizing prosecutions against local election officials who provided ballots to individuals deemed ineligible. These moves followed years of claims by President Trump regarding widespread fraud in previous elections, despite constitutional provisions giving individual states the primary authority over election administration.

District Judge Indira Talwani originally sided with a coalition of Democratic-led states including California and Massachusetts, finding that the president lacks the authority to compel DHS to compile these lists or force USPS to adopt binding regulations on voting procedures. She specifically criticized attempts to intimidate local officials with threats of criminal prosecution based on potentially incomplete federal data. While a separate judge in Washington D C previously declined to block the order on different grounds, this latest ruling leaves the administration with few options beyond seeking intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court.