On Saturday, July 25th, 2026, a federal appeals court ruled against the Trump administration’s attempt to implement stricter mail-in voting regulations before the upcoming midterm elections, which will determine control of both the House and Senate.

The 1st U.S. Circuit of Appeals declined to lift a lower-court injunction issued in June that found parts of President Trump’s order unconstitutional. This injunction followed lawsuits filed by Democratic-led states including California, Massachusetts, and Washington.

President Trump’s order had directed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to compile a list of confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote in each state using sensitive federal citizenship data. It also instructed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate officials who mailed ballots to individuals deemed "not eligible" to vote.

In her ruling, Judge Talwani stated that Trump lacked the authority to have DHS compile such data and that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) had no authority to comply with these mail-in voting directives. She further noted that Trump had no power "to intimidate local election officials to use the necessarily incomplete confirmed citizenship lists as a resource, lest they face criminal prosecution."

Trump has remained critical of mail-in ballots, citing in his July primetime address on election integrity what he described as "unexpected vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure."

The DOJ has indicated that if no favorable ruling is obtained, the administration may seek further legal action.

The appeals court rejected the administration’s appeal in a 2-1 decision, maintaining the injunction and blocking enforcement of the order ahead of the midterms.

Sources