Trump executive order on mail-in voting faces federal court challenge

On March 31, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” directing the U.S. Postal Service to receive from each state a list of voters intended to receive mail‑in or absentee ballots and to create unique ballot‑envelope identifiers such as bar codes. The order would limit USPS delivery to ballots for voters on the approved lists, effectively giving the agency authority over ballot eligibility.

The League of Women Voters and other plaintiffs have filed a federal lawsuit arguing the order exceeds presidential power, violates the Constitution’s allocation of election rules to states and Congress, and threatens mass disenfranchisement. In a Washington, D.C. district court hearing on June 2, the court denied a preliminary injunction sought by the plaintiffs, allowing the order to remain in effect while the case proceeds.