A federal judge just handed the Trump administration a victory related to its efforts to protect election integrity when he refused to block President Donald Trump’s executive order to establish a voter list while placing restrictions on mail-in ballots.
From The Associated Press:
A federal judge has declined to halt President Donald Trump’s executive order creating a federal voter list and limiting mail voting, clearing the way for potential sweeping changes in how American elections are run shortly before this year’s midterm elections.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee in Washington, late Wednesday rejected the request by Democrats and civil rights groups that had argued Trump’s order would likely be found unconstitutional because the states and Congress, not the president, have the power to set election rules. Nichols agreed with the Republican Trump administration’s contention that it was too early to block the order because it has yet to be implemented.
“The Court recognizes that the Postal Service may ultimately issue a final rule that directly affects Plaintiffs or their members, or that the Government may develop State Citizenship Lists that omit specific individuals due to particularized flaws,” Nichols wrote. “Plaintiffs may, of course, renew their motions if and when those future actions occur. Until then, however, Plaintiffs cannot show that preliminary injunctive relief is warranted.”
The legal battle against the provision now shifts to Boston, where voting rights groups have a separate lawsuit seeking to temporarily block the executive order in federal court. The Trump administration has yet to formally issue lists of eligible voters, and those who filed the initial request for a temporary halt said they’d be back if the administration moves in that direction.
JUST IN: Judge Nichols has rejected Democrats request for a preliminary injunction to block Trump's executive order on mail-in voting and citizenship lists.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) May 28, 2026
He says it's not ripe yet because no concrete action has occurred to implement it. https://t.co/0VfpaxGEy2 pic.twitter.com/hRKRy4OzvZ
Trump signed the order in late March. It creates a federal database listing citizens who are eligible to vote in each state. It directed the Department of Homeland Security to create “State Citizenship Lists” using federal records on citizenship, naturalization, and Social Security data. The move is meant to ensure that noncitizens are not fraudulently voting in federal elections.
The order also instructs the U.S. Postal Service to create rules for mail-in and absentee ballots and to deliver these ballots only to those on the approved lists. It threatens criminal prosecutions or the loss of federal funds for officials who send ballots to people who are not on the lists.
THE LAW DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS
— Unite4Freedom (@Unite4Freedom) May 28, 2026
Late last night, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols delivered a massive blow to partisan lawfare, flatly rejecting a desperate attempt by Democrats and activist groups to block the new Executive Order establishing a federal citizen voter…
This executive order is part of Trump’s effort to tighten up election rules and to make it harder for noncitizens to cast ballots in federal races. Critics slammed the order, calling it overreach because the Constitution grants states primary control over how they handle their elections. Over 20 blue states sued the Trump administration in April over the issue.
The plaintiffs insist that the lists could wrongly exclude eligible voters because federal databases are not proficient enough to handle this type of task. They also contend that the Postal Service has no authority to do election enforcement.