Indira Talwani's ruling stands as a federal appeals court rejects the administration's request to implement new mail-in voting rules in 23 states.
A federal appeals court on Saturday declined to allow the administration to implement an executive order in 23 states designed to tighten mail-in voting rules. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a request to lift an injunction secured by several Democratic-led states. These states argued that key parts of the order were unconstitutional. The administration argued that a lawsuit was premature because government agencies had not yet finalized the policies to implement the directive. However, the court ruled 2-1 that states must respond now because the order established clear, rapidly approaching deadlines for the upcoming elections. The order, signed in March, directs the Department of Homeland Security to compile citizenship lists and requires the U.S. Postal Service to deliver ballots only to approved voters. While the administration sought to streamline the process, Indira Talwani ruled that the president lacked the authority to direct the Department of Homeland Security to compile these lists or to mandate specific regulations for the U.S. Postal Service.