Federal judge halts Trump's election executive order seeking to create a federal voter list

By — Michael Casey, Associated Press Michael Casey, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/federal-judge-halts-trumps-election-executive-order-seeking-to-create-a-federal-voter-list Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Federal judge halts Trump's election executive order seeking to create a federal voter list Politics Jun 25, 2026 11:37 AM EDT BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday halted President Donald Trump's executive order that sought to create a federal voter list and limit who can receive a mail ballot. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, sided with a coalition of nearly two dozen states that challenged the Republican president's order in granting a summary judgment. Her ruling applies to this year's midterm election cycle. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Plaintiffs argued in two lawsuits, both filed in federal court in Boston, that Trump's order should be found unconstitutional because the states and Congress, not the president, have the power to set election rules. The judge agreed, noting in her ruling that the provisions of Trump's order "unconstitutionally violate the separation of powers." It was the second ruling in as many days against executive orders Trump has signed seeking oversight of the nation's elections. A separate ruling Wednesday prohibited an executive order he had signed last year that would have required people to show documents proving their citizenship when registering to vote. READ MORE: Federal judge bars Trump from implementing proof of citizenship requirement to vote The administration, in its motions to dismiss the lawsuits challenging the order seeking to establish a federal voter list, argued that the motions are premature and that plaintiffs lacked the legal basis to bring their claim based on the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations. But in an interim order before Thursday's ruling, Talwani said the motions pertaining to this year's election cycle were relevant: "In light of the EO's specific deadlines over the next three months, and the reality that elections will be occurring throughout this period with the November 3, 2026 midterm occurring in just five months, postponing judicial review is impracticable and may inflict significant hardship on Plaintiffs," she wrote. That order denied the Trump administration's motion to dismiss the challenges. Trump's executive order, the second one aimed at elections during his second term, comes as he continues to raise the specter of widespread voting by noncitizens as a reason to change election rules. But states already have detailed processes aimed at keeping their voter rolls accurate, and voting by noncitizens has been shown to be rare. It also is a felony that