The move stalled the directive, aimed at ensuring only U.S. citizens vote in November's election, for a second time only. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani blocked the government from implementing the order for two weeks.
The ruling Thursday came after Democrats and their allies refiled their lawsuits to comply with the recent Supreme Court decision. The high court's conservative majority did not rule on the legality of Trump's executive order, instead saying Talwani had acted too soon.
Now the administration has issued a formal rule governing whether the U.S. Postal Service will deliver states’ mail ballots, effectively restarting the legal fight.
The Postal Service says it won’t deliver mail ballots unless states provide a list of voters who are citizens and format the envelopes in a certain way.
Democrats contend the Postal Services' demand is unconstitutional. The Constitution, they note, grants states and, in some cases, Congress the power to make election rules — not the president or Postal Service.
But the Trump administration argues that the law aimed at ensuring only U.S. citizens can vote is a federal law and therefore the federal government has the right to ensure that law is upheld.
