A federal appeals court on Saturday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing major portions of President Donald Trump’s executive order imposing stricter mail-in voting rules across 23 Democratic-led states, delivering a legal defeat that could push the fight to the US Supreme Court before this year’s midterm elections.
In a 2-1 ruling, the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Department of Justice’s request to put on hold a June decision that halted several sections of Trump’s March executive order while the administration continues its appeal.
The Justice Department had previously warned the court that, if unsuccessful, it could ask the Supreme Court for emergency intervention.
Administration lawyers argued that the states’ lawsuit had been filed too soon, saying federal agencies had not yet completed the policies required to carry out the executive order.
The appeals court disagreed, concluding that the states challenging the order were already confronting fast-approaching election deadlines and had begun planning for possible changes to voting procedures.
“As the district court reasoned, the (executive order) lays out a clear set of rapidly approaching deadlines by which states must coordinate with federal officials and comply with new voting procedures,” the majority wrote. “The Plaintiff States have no practical choice but to respond to the (order) now.”
Trump signed Executive Order 14399 in March, framing the measure as part of his broader election integrity push.
The order directs the Department of Homeland Security to create lists of confirmed US citizens eligible to vote and share them with states, requires the US Postal Service to develop new standards for mail-in ballots, and instructs the Justice Department to prioritize investigations of state and local election officials who issue federal ballots to individuals deemed ineligible to vote.
The lawsuit was brought by 23 states and the District of Columbia, led by California, Massachusetts, Nevada and Washington.
The states argue the Constitution gives them primary responsibility for administering federal elections and that the president exceeded his authority by directing federal agencies to impose new voting requirements.
US District Judge Indira Talwani agreed in June, ruling that several provisions of the executive order likely exceeded the president’s authority and blocking federal agencies from implementing them in the plaintiff states through the Nov. 3 federal elections.
Saturday’s ruling does not resolve the underlying legal challenge but leaves Talwani’s injunction in place while the appeal proceeds.
The White House and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
