Federal courts have blocked key parts of President Trump’s executive orders targeting electoral fraud efforts, stalling his push to reshape voting rules ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
On June 25, 2026, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston issued a 37-page ruling blocking Trump’s mail voting executive order, declaring it unconstitutional. The order had directed the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration to create a nationwide list of verified U.S. citizens over 18, and instructed the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail-in ballots only to voters on preapproved federal lists.
Talwani ruled that “the president did not have the constitutional authority to regulate state elections” and that “no law enacted by Congress delegates authority to control mail-in voting to USPS.” The injunction applies to 24 jurisdictions—23 states and the District of Columbia—that sued to block the order, including Arizona, California, Michigan, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
This ruling came one day after a separate federal judge in Boston permanently barred Trump from implementing his first election executive order, which sought to require proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Both orders have been struck down by courts on constitutional grounds.
Trump’s voter fraud crusade is crashing into the limits of his power across multiple fronts. The administration has struggled to demonstrate evidence of the widespread voter fraud he claims occurred in the 2020 election, according to NBC News reporting. Federal judges, state election officials, and independent investigations have repeatedly debunked Trump’s allegations of fraud in that race.
Beyond the courts, Trump’s legislative push has also stalled. He has spent months demanding that Congress pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and establish uniform photo ID requirements. Senate Republicans have defied Trump on the measure, insisting they lack the votes to pass it even under modified rules. On June 25, Trump canceled plans to sign a major bipartisan housing bill, saying the SAVE America Act must pass first, calling it a “national emergency.”
The White House has signaled it will appeal Talwani’s ruling, with spokeswoman Abigail Jackson stating the administration is “confident that we will ultimately prevail.” The case could eventually escalate to the Supreme Court, which recently ruled in Trump’s favor on immigration-related matters. However, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, one of the officials who brought the lawsuit, hailed the ruling as a major victory: “States run elections, not Trump. This is a major victory for American democracy.”
Trump has made reshaping American elections a priority since returning to office, appointing officials involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, including Kurt Olsen as director of election security and integrity at the White House, and Heather Honey at the Department of Homeland Security. Yet the courts have repeatedly rejected the constitutional basis for his election-related orders, affirming that the Constitution leaves election administration to Congress and the states.
Sources
- NBC News — Judge Indira Talwani’s ruling blocking Trump’s mail voting executive order, details of the order’s provisions, and the separate ruling on citizenship requirements.
- Votebeat — The 37-page ruling details, Talwani’s reasoning that the president lacks constitutional authority over state elections, the list of 24 jurisdictions in the injunction, and Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s statement.
- Axios — Trump’s voter fraud crusade stalling in courts and Congress, the SAVE America Act’s status in the Senate, Trump’s cancellation of the housing bill signing, and the White House’s statement on appeal.
- Bloomberg Law — The court’s finding that there is “no evidence in this record of widespread illegal voting, discrimination, fraud, and other forms of malfeasance and error.”
