Federal judge blocks postal service from enforcing Trump ballot order
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A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing an administrative order regarding mail-in ballots.
President Donald Trump had ordered the postal service to deliver ballots for states only if those states first submit a list of mail-in voters, among other requirements. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan’s ruling blocks the postal service from enforcing the order nationwide.
Sullivan argued in a lawsuit between the postal service and the NAACP filed in early 2020 that the order would violate a settlement agreement. This agreement allowed the courts to oversee the postal service’s actions regarding “tracking and timely delivery of Election Mail.”
People completing their ballot papers (Photo: REBECCA DROKE/AFP via Getty Images) (REBECCA DROKE/AFP via Getty Images)
“The Proposed Rule violates paragraph 2 of the Agreement because the Postal Service cannot publish documents reflecting ‘practices and policies prioritizing the tracking and timely delivery of Election Mail’ if its policies provide that it will not accept ‘incompatible mailing’ and therefore will not deliver mail-in or absentee ballots to some voters, and it cannot mail ballots to any voters in a state if the state ‘rejects or fails to certify a list.'” Sullivan wrote from his own perspective.
Sullivan’s order follows an earlier lawsuit earlier this year in which about 25 states challenged Trump’s order. Those states were successful in blocking the postal service from fulfilling orders in their states, but Sullivan’s decision extends across the country.
Deputy City Clerk James Blatchford prepares absentee and early ballots at Haverhill City Hall to be sent to precincts for Election Day counting on Monday, Nov. 2, 2020 in Haverhill, Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
The ruling also comes just a week after an Obama-appointed judge blocked Trump’s effort to block noncitizens from registering to vote or voting in federal elections.
AS THE STRUGGLE TO SAVE AMERICA INTENDS, OBAMA APPOINTED JUDGE BLOCKED TRUMP’S ELECTION ORDER
The litigation in that case focused on Trump’s March Executive Order (EO) 14248, which directed the creation of the federal voter registration list and imposed new restrictions on mail-in voting eligibility as part of the administration’s broader effort to combat voter fraud.
President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Friday, September 19, 2025. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
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“President Trump is committed to ensuring that Americans have full confidence in the administration of our elections. The president’s executive order legally protects our elections, and we are confident that we will ultimately prevail in its enforcement,” White House press secretary Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital last week. he said.
Fox News’ Ashley DiMella contributed to this report.
