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Appeals Court Upholds Block on Trump Mail Voting Order
July 26, 2026
A federal appeals court declined to let the Trump administration enforce, in 23 states, his executive order tightening rules for mail-in voting before November.
The Guardian reports that a federal appeals court on Saturday declined to allow the Trump administration to implement, in 23 states, the executive order that aims to tighten rules for mail-in voting ahead of November elections that will decide control of Congress. Bloomberg.com, The New York Times and The Hill each carry the same ruling under their own headlines, The Hill's reading "Appeals court upholds injunction on President Trump’s mail-in voting order". Five outlets in all carry the story, and the near-identical accounts suggest the material is widely carried rather than the work of any single newsroom.
On the substance The Guardian and Fox News agree. Both report that Judge Indira Talwani sided with a coalition of 23 states and the District of Columbia, led by California, Massachusetts, Nevada and Washington state, finding the president lacked authority to direct DHS to compile voter eligibility lists for each state and that USPS had no statutory authorization to adopt binding regulations on mail-in voting. The Guardian also reports the order's backdrop: Trump signed it in March after years of pressing for tighter mail voting rules and repeating the false claim that voter fraud cost him the 2020 election, a point Bloomberg.com and The New York Times corroborate. The Guardian carries the Justice Department's argument for pausing Talwani's ruling, that any challenge was premature because agencies had yet to finalize actions and policies implementing the directive, and the appeals court's refusal answers that request.
What is settled: the injunction stands, the order cannot take effect in the 23 states, and the lower court's reasoning is corroborated across outlets. What is not: how the administration proceeds on appeal, and on what timetable before November.
Still developing
The administration's next move on appeal is not yet reported across sources, and no outlet carries a timetable for further review before the November elections.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- The Guardian — Appeals court rejects Trump bid to curb mail-in voting in 23 states
- Fox News — Federal appeals court rejects Trump bid to enforce mail ballot order ahead of midterm elections
- The Hill — Appeals court upholds injunction on President Trump’s mail-in voting order