A federal appeals court has left in place a lower court order blocking parts of President Donald Trump’s executive action on mail-in voting, rejecting the administration’s effort to temporarily restore the challenged provisions while the legal battle continues.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Saturday that election deadlines facing the states involved outweighed the administration’s argument that the lawsuit was premature.
The 2-1 decision rejected the Justice Department’s (DOJ) request to suspend a June ruling that blocked several provisions of Trump’s March executive order while the administration appeals the case.
The DOJ argued that the lawsuit was premature because federal agencies had not yet finalized the policies required to carry out the order.
The appeals court, however, found that states were already facing election deadlines and needed to prepare for possible changes outlined in the executive order.
In explaining the decision, the court’s majority pointed to the timing of upcoming elections, writing that the executive order created “a clear set of rapidly approaching deadlines” requiring states to respond before the federal agencies finalized implementation plans.
The judges agreed with the lower court’s reasoning that the states could not wait until the policies were fully implemented before preparing for possible impacts on upcoming elections.
The ruling does not decide the broader legal dispute but keeps the existing injunction blocking parts of the order in place while the appeal proceeds, according to Fox News.
Trump signed Executive Order 14399 in March as part of his administration’s election integrity agenda.
The executive order includes several election-related directives, including new USPS standards for mail-in ballots, DHS efforts to provide states with lists of confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote, and expanded DOJ attention toward cases involving allegedly ineligible voters.
The lawsuit was filed by 23 states and the District of Columbia, led by California, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Washington.
The states argue that the Constitution gives states primary authority over administering federal elections and that the president exceeded his authority by directing federal agencies to impose additional election procedures.
They challenged provisions they said interfered with state election administration responsibilities.
The lower court previously blocked several provisions of the executive order after Judge Indira Talwani found they likely exceeded presidential authority, according to M10News.
The injunction prevents federal agencies from enforcing those measures in the states involved while the case continues.
The administration appealed the decision and sought to pause the injunction while the case moved forward.
The DOJ had previously indicated it could seek emergency relief from the U.S. Supreme Court if the appeals court ruled against the administration.
Saturday’s decision increases the possibility that the dispute could eventually reach the nation’s highest court as the legal battle continues ahead of the midterm elections.
The White House and DOJ had not immediately issued public statements following the ruling.
The case remains unresolved, with the appeals process continuing over whether the president had the authority to direct federal agencies to implement the challenged voting procedures.
Until further court action, the lower court’s injunction remains in effect and prevents enforcement of the blocked provisions in the affected states.
