A federal judge on Thursday refused to block President Donald Trump’s executive order tightening rules for mail-in voting, handing Democrats an early legal setback as they warn the measure could affect millions of voters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The ruling comes as Republicans fight to hold control of both chambers of Congress in November. Trump has long argued that election safeguards need to be strengthened, particularly around mail-in voting, which he has repeatedly criticized since the 2020 election.
Trump’s March 31 executive order directed federal agencies to work with states to help identify confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote. The order also instructed the administration to use federal databases to assist state election officials in verifying voter eligibility.
In addition, the order requires the U.S. Postal Service to deliver ballots only to voters appearing on each state’s approved mail-in ballot list and mandates that states preserve election-related records for five years.
A group of plaintiffs, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the order, arguing it could disenfranchise legally registered voters if federal citizenship databases contain outdated or inaccurate information.
But Washington-based U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols ruled the challenge was premature because the administration has not yet implemented the policies outlined in the order.
“Given that the Executive Order does not command Plaintiffs to do anything, and that no agency has yet acted pursuant to the Order in a way that could harm Plaintiffs, they have not suffered any harm at present,” Nichols wrote.
Nichols, who was appointed during Trump’s first term, said Democrats could renew their request for an injunction once federal agencies begin carrying out the order.
Democrats argued that the administration’s plan to use Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration data to create “state citizenship lists” could wrongly exclude eligible voters because government records may contain errors or outdated information.
The Justice Department pushed back, arguing the lawsuit was filed too early because no concrete action has yet been taken under the executive order.
A separate coalition of Democrat-led states has also challenged the order in federal court in Boston. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, is scheduled to hear arguments in that case on June 2.
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