US news | The Guardian
· collected 2026-09-04 · by Dara Kerr and agencies
US District Court Judge Indira Talwani blocked Donald Trump's executive order to restrict mail-in voting, extending a temporary block with a stronger preliminary injunction on Friday. The ruling comes as North Carolina starts sending out mail-in ballots for the November midterm elections, and the judge cited the tight timeline as a reason to block the order. The Trump administration had appealed Talwani's initial temporary block to the Supreme Court, but it remains unclear whether the justices will have a final say on the matter. A coalition of 24 state attorneys general led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta is suing the USPS to challenge the rule.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The Trump administration has been pushing for new rules that would restrict mail-in voting, citing concerns about voter fraud. However, experts and officials from both parties have expressed concern that these rules could lead to widespread disenfranchisement of voters. The USPS was ordered by President Trump to implement these changes, which include requiring election officials to add unique barcodes to ballot envelopes and upload lists of people who requested ballots. However, a federal judge in Massachusetts has blocked the implementation of these new rules, citing concerns that they would be "virtually impossible" to comply with.
The new rules were set to take effect just weeks before the midterm elections, which are scheduled for November 3. North Carolina became the first state to start sending out mail-in ballots on Friday, despite the uncertainty surrounding the new federal rules. The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to lift a lower court's block on the order, but it remains unclear whether these changes will be allowed to take effect.
Critics of the new rules argue that they are an attempt by the Trump administration to centralize control of elections and undermine state authority over voting procedures. Notably, President Trump himself votes by mail, as do about a third of all U.S. voters. The Supreme Court is currently considering the legality of these changes, but it remains unclear how this will ultimately affect the election process.
Meanwhile, election officials are warning that implementing these new rules could lead to millions of ballots going undelivered. A whistleblower has warned that there are "potentially catastrophic problems" with the new system for handling federal election ballot mail. The implementation of these changes is being closely watched by election officials and voters across the country, who are concerned about the potential disruptions to the midterms.
Written for “Trump Mail Voting Restrictions” on 2026-09-05,
grounded in this article and the 15 other(s) covering the same event.
A federal judge on Friday again blocked Donald Trump’s executive order to impose sweeping restrictions on mail-in voting, the latest in a legal back-and-forth playing out less than two months before election day.
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judge → block → day
US district court judge Indira Talwani initially placed a temporary order blocking the president’s mandate and has now extended that prohibition with a stronger preliminary injunction.
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Talwani → place → injunction
The ruling comes hours after North Carolina became the first state to start sending out mail-in ballots for the 3 November midterm elections.
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Carolina → come → elections
Talwani referred to the tight timeline in her ruling.
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Talwani → refer → ruling
“Plaintiff States are required under state law to mail millions of ballots to voters on a prescribed timeframe.
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States → require → timeframe
As detailed below, they are unable to pivot this late in the election cycle, nearly guaranteeing significant disenfranchisement for eligible voters,” the judge wrote in her ruling.
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judge → detail → ruling
Trump signed an executive order in March that would create a nationwide list of verified eligible voters, compelling the US Postal Service (USPS) to work with states to establish lists of mail-in voters before elections.
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that → sign → elections
The result would mean a limited ballot delivery only to voters on those lists.
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result → mean → lists
The Trump administration had already appealed against her temporary block to the supreme court, and it appeared the justices were likely to have a final say on the matter.
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justices → appeal → matter
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the administration quickly appealed Friday’s ruling.
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administration → respond → ruling
The USPS has said in recent court filings that the technology needed to administer the order isn’t even available.
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technology → say → order
Earlier this week, a USPS whistleblower came forward and warned of “potentially catastrophic problems” if the agency were to try to carry out the order.
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agency → come → order
After Trump signed the order, a coalition of 24 state attorneys general sued the USPS to challenge the rule.
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coalition → sign → rule
They also filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction as litigation was ongoing.
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litigation → file → order
Oral argument on the coalition’s request for a preliminary injunction was held on Thursday.
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argument → hold → Thursday
“We’ve now secured longer-term relief that will keep the USPS changes blocked while our case moves forward,” said Rob Bonta, the attorney general of California, who co-led the state coalition.
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who → secure → coalition
“We will continue to take all steps to stop the Trump Administration from trampling on voting rights and restricting mail voting.
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We → continue → voting
The order allows states to voluntarily use the new system.
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states → allow → system
To date, not a single state has announced that it will do so.
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it → announce → date
A coalition of voter service and civic groups, plaintiffs represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in the lawsuit, issued a statement: “Today’s ruling makes it crystal clear: The US Postal Service must deliver all election mail.
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Service → represent → mail
USPS has no authority in the Constitution or federal law over how states administer mail voting.
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states → have → voting
And the President cannot order the Postal Service to create a disruptive new bureaucracy that will throw the election into chaos and disenfranchise untold numbers of voters.”
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that → order → voters
Trump has long sought to limit mail voting, even though he himself often uses that method to cast his own ballot.
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he → seek → ballot
He has falsely blamed mail balloting for his 2020 election loss, spreading baseless claims of fraud, but has so far been unable to change the longstanding voting procedure.
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He → blame → procedure
An initial executive order Trump issued last year to change election rules, including a requirement for people to show documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote, was halted by federal judges.
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people → issue → judges
They ruled that the constitution gives states and, in some cases, Congress the power to set voting procedures, not the president.
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constitution → rule → procedures
After Trump issued his mail voting executive order in March, Democrats and voting rights groups filed several lawsuits.
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Democrats → issue → lawsuits
Two ended up before Talwani, who placed an initial hold on the order in June, prohibiting its implementation until after November.
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who → end → November
But the supreme court late last month overturned that order.
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court → overturn → order
Its conservative majority pointedly did not say Trump’s move was legal but found the lawsuits were filed prematurely before the US Postal Service issued its rule on how it would implement the order.
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it → say → order
The rule came out just before the supreme court released its ruling, and the plaintiffs refiled their suits.
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plaintiffs → come → suits
