Talwani blocks Trump EO on federal voter lists and mail voting for 23 states + D.C.

On June 25, 2026, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani (District of Massachusetts) issued an injunction blocking major parts of President Trump’s Executive Order 14399 in 23 states and the District of Columbia for the November 3, 2026 federal election (and any earlier federal elections).

The practical impact is a legal “fork in the road” for voters, election workers, and campaigns: states continue administering elections under existing state rules, while the blocked federal eligibility-list and USPS mail-voting enforcement mechanics described in the executive order cannot be implemented or enforced in the plaintiff jurisdictions as ordered.

What the Trump executive order tried to do

Executive Order 14399 (“Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections”) directed federal agencies to take a more direct role in two main areas:

• Federal “Confirmed Citizen” lists: The order directed DHS (through USCIS) in coordination with the Social Security Administration to compile lists of people confirmed to be U.S. citizens, 18 or older, and with a residence in the relevant state.
• USPS-linked mail voting: The order directed USPS to pursue rulemaking that would tie mail-ballot handling to a process under which voters would be “enrolled with the USPS,” and it set additional timing around when states could notify USPS about using mail ballots.

What Judge Talwani blocked on June 25

The court’s order makes a key distinction between provisions it declared void and provisions it treated as non-binding:

• Sections 2 and 3 are legally void (the court held they were ultra vires and unconstitutional as applied to the plaintiff states).
• Section 5 is “merely precatory” (not treated as enforceable in the same way).

The injunction then spells out what federal officials are barred from doing for elections administered in the plaintiff states. In particular:

• DOJ and DHS-related steps connected to Section 2: Federal officials are enjoined from implementing, giving effect to, or enforcing Section 2—including taking steps to create a new federal program to control state maintenance of voter rolls. The injunction also bars DOJ from initiating investigations or prosecutions of plaintiff states’ officials that are “stemming from” the unconstitutional Section 2 provisions.
• USPS mail-ballot handling and the specific mail-voting rulemaking: Federal officials are enjoined from implementing, giving effect to, or enforcing the challenged subsections of Section 3 as to elections mail and ballot envelopes used by the plaintiff states. The order also specifically bars conduct including refusing to transmit mail-in or absentee ballots from voters registered in plaintiff states to election officials in plaintiff states—regardless of the voter’s location—and bars initiating or completing the specific rulemaking to promulgate the regulations laid out in those challenged subsections.

Important exception: The injunction does not bar the federal government from providing non-binding USPS guidance on ballot mail envelopes, or providing assistance with verifying citizenship or eligibility if the assistance is provided at a plaintiff state’s request and within the framework provided by Congress.

How this connects to USPS rulemaking in the Federal Register

USPS had moved ahead with a Federal Register notice of proposed rulemaking tied to the executive order’s mail-voting framework. But the court’s injunction is not just about whether USPS can publish materials—it also bars federal officials from initiating or completing the specific rulemaking described in the challenged parts of EO Section 3 for elections administered by the plaintiff states.

So, even if the Federal Register process exists on paper, election administrators and election-mail planners in the plaintiff states should assume the blocked compliance/enforcement mechanics described in those challenged subsections are not currently enforceable as ordered.

What happens next

The court also required steps to ensure the injunction is actually communicated and implemented: the order calls for written notice and related status steps within seven calendar days, and it requires a status report to the court within that same general timeframe.

And procedurally, the next “watch point” for readers is whether the administration seeks additional relief. Reporting from AP said the White House indicated it plans to appeal the ruling.

Sources

• Judge Talwani’s June 25 injunction text (D. Mass.)
• USPS Federal Register notice tied to the mail-voting framework
• AP’s explanation of what the ruling means and whether the administration will appeal