Federal appeals court rejects Trump bid to enforce mail ballot order ahead of midterm elections

"The Plaintiff States have no practical choice but to respond to the (order) now." Trump signed Executive Order 14399 in March as part of his election integrity agenda.

Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the administration's request to lift an injunction several Democratic-led states secured on June 25 from a lower-court judge who concluded that key parts of the Republican president's order were unconstitutional.

What we know

A federal appeals court on Saturday refused to let the Trump administration enforce key parts of President Donald Trump's executive order tightening mail-in voting rules in 23 Democratic-led states, a setback that could send the administration to the U.S. 'ROGUE' OBAMA JUDGE'S SMACKDOWN OF TRUMP ELECTION RULES PROVOKES OMINOUS WARNING FROM WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY An elections office employee scans mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania. (Fox News, File) The lawsuit was brought by 23 states, and the District of Columbia, led by California, Massachusetts, Nevada and Washington.

Brittany Miller is a Fox News Digital breaking news writer and former Independent reporter who graduated from Syracuse University in 2023. "The Plaintiff States have no practical choice but to respond to the (order) now." Before Talwani ruled, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., rejected a related effort by Democrats to block Trump's order on similar grounds.

The judge, who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama, said Trump also could not attempt through his order "to intimidate local election officials to use the necessarily incomplete confirmed citizenship lists as a resource, lest they face criminal prosecution."

The details

President Donald Trump's administration to implement in 23 states his executive order that aims to tighten rules ‌for mail-in voting ahead of November elections that will decide control of Congress. The Justice Department warned that absent a ruling in its favor from the 1st Circuit, it may be forced to ask the U.S. Trump signed the executive order in March after years of calling for tighter rules on voting by mail and pushing the false claim that his 2020 election defeat was the result of widespread voter fraud.

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The DOJ previously told the court it could seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court if it did not prevail. The order directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to compile lists of confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote and provide them to states, instructs the U.S. He has made winning approval in Congress of a divisive package of voting restrictions called the SAVE America Act a priority.