Indian-American judge extends block on Trump’s mail-voting curbs ahead of midterm polls

US President Donald Trump.

A US federal judge has extended a block on President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking sweeping restrictions on mail-in voting, marking another legal setback to the administration less than two months before the November midterm elections.District Judge Indira Talwani, an Indian-American jurist, issued a preliminary injunction on Friday preventing the US Postal Service (USPS) from implementing the new mail-voting procedures.The ruling came as North Carolina began sending mail-in ballots to voters for the November 3 elections.

Judge warns of ‘significant disenfranchisement’

Talwani, who had earlier temporarily halted the order, said states did not have enough time to overhaul their election systems before ballots were due to be mailed.The judge noted that states were legally required to send millions of ballots within prescribed timelines and could not make major changes this late in the election cycle without risking the disenfranchisement of eligible voters.The latest ruling follows a lawsuit filed by a coalition of 24 state attorneys general challenging Trump’s voting order.

What Trump’s mail-voting order seeks

Trump signed the executive order in March calling for a nationwide system to verify eligible voters who receive mail-in ballots.Under the proposed system, the USPS would work with states to compile lists of eligible mail voters and deliver ballots only to people included on those lists.The administration has argued that tighter controls are needed to protect elections from fraud. However, critics and voting-rights groups have challenged the president’s authority to impose the changes.No state has so far announced plans to voluntarily adopt the new system.

Trump administration expected to appeal

The administration had already challenged Talwani’s earlier ruling before the US Supreme Court and is expected to appeal Friday’s injunction as well.The Supreme Court had overturned Talwani’s previous block last month, but the conservative majority did not rule on whether Trump’s executive order itself was lawful.Instead, it found that the legal challenge was brought before the USPS formally issued rules explaining how it would implement the order.After the USPS issued its rule, the states and voting-rights groups renewed their legal challenge, bringing the matter back before Talwani.

USPS warns of implementation problems

The postal service has also raised concerns about whether it has the technology needed to implement the administration’s plan.A USPS whistleblower warned earlier this week of potentially serious problems, saying the systems being prepared to administer the new procedures had been developed in a rushed manner and could result in millions of voters not receiving their mail-in ballots.California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who co-led the state coalition challenging the order, welcomed Talwani’s ruling, saying it would keep the proposed USPS changes blocked while the case proceeds.

Mail voting becomes election flashpoint

Trump has repeatedly criticised mail-in voting and has claimed, without evidence, that the system is vulnerable to widespread fraud. He has also linked mail voting to his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.Despite his criticism, Trump has used mail-in voting himself, including during a Republican primary in Florida.The legal battle comes as Republicans seek to retain their narrow control of Congress in the November midterm elections.Democrats have indicated that winning control of Congress could allow them to block Trump’s agenda and potentially pursue impeachment proceedings.