Judge Talwani blocks Trump mail-voting executive order across 23 states and D.C.

On June 25, 2026, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston issued an injunction blocking major provisions of President Trump’s March 2026 executive order that directed the U.S. Postal Service and DHS to compile federal voter lists and restrict mail-ballot delivery. Talwani found that neither agency has statutory authority over state voter rolls. The injunction covers 23 states and the District of Columbia — including the swing states Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, North Carolina, and Wisconsin — halting the administration’s most aggressive attempt to federalize election administration ahead of the November midterms.

The ruling is a judicial check on the election-capture campaign, striking the centerpiece of the March 2026 mail-voting order (2026-03-31–trump-executive-order-restricts-mail-voting-usps-voter-lists) that 23 states had sued over in April (2026-04-03–23-states-sue-trump-mail-voting-executive-order). It lands one day after USPS counsel Steiner’s directive to withhold mail ballots from states refusing to surrender voter rolls (2026-06-24–steiner-usps-withhold-mail-ballots-from-states-refusing-voter-rolls), suggesting the agencies were already operationalizing the order Talwani has now enjoined. The administration is expected to appeal to the First Circuit and may seek an emergency stay given the compressed midterm timeline; the Roberts Court’s demonstrated willingness to fast-track Trump executive orders makes the appellate path the next thing to watch.