A federal judge in Boston on Thursday blocked the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at tightening rules governing mail-in voting, preventing it from taking effect ahead of the November elections that will determine control of Congress.US District Judge Indira Talwani ruled in favour of several Democratic-led states, which argued that the Republican president was unlawfully attempting to interfere in the administration of federal elections by the states.Trump signed the executive order on March 31 after repeatedly calling for stricter controls on mail-in voting and continuing to claim, without evidence, that widespread voter fraud had cost him the 2020 presidential election. Under the US Constitution, the responsibility for administering federal elections rests with individual states.The order directs the Department of Homeland Security to compile and provide states with a list of confirmed US citizens eligible to vote, using citizenship, naturalisation and other federal records.It also requires the US Postal Service to deliver ballots only to voters included on each state’s approved mail-in ballot list. In line with the directive, the Postal Service recently proposed new rules requiring states to submit the names and barcodes linked to mail-in ballots.The executive order further instructs the Department of Justice to prioritise investigations and prosecutions of state and local election officials who issue federal ballots to people considered “not eligible” to vote.Voting rights organisations, along with 23 states and the District of Columbia, challenged the order in court, arguing that it is unconstitutional and that Trump has no legal authority to exercise presidential control over election administration.The states contended that allowing the order to remain in force would force them to rapidly overhaul their election systems before November, creating disruption and potentially disenfranchising eligible voters.Talwani, who was appointed by former Democratic President Barack Obama, issued the ruling after another federal judge, Trump appointee Carl Nichols in Washington, declined to grant a preliminary injunction in a separate case brought by Democrats challenging the same executive order.
