A coalition of states, including Arizona, secured a restraining order Thursday blocking part of President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting mail-in voting.
A district court in Massachusetts blocked part of Trump’s executive order from going into effect, as it relates to the U.S. Postal Service.
The president’s order, issued March 31, would require USPS to examine ballots and only deliver mail-in ballots with unique barcodes to voters on approved federal lists.
A group of states and the League of Women Voters both sued over the order, calling it unconstitutional and arguing that USPS doesn’t have the authority or capacity to implement the order.
The United States Supreme Court issued an emergency order on Aug. 24 in the case brought by the states allowing the Trump administration to move forward with his order.
The Supreme Court didn’t determine Trump’s executive order is lawful, but said the state’s sued prematurely before the USPS issued its final rule on the matter.
The states led by Democratic attorneys general immediately moved to block it again.
“Plaintiff States face irreparable harm where they are required to comply with a likely unconstitutional regulation for which compliance is practically impossible as to the 2026 midterm elections, now little more than two months away,” United States District Judge Indira Talwani wrote in the court order.
Trump is a critic of mail-in voting, despite using it himself. He falsely claimed mail-in voting is not secure and affected the results of the 2020 presidential election.
More than 80% of Arizonans vote by mail and early voting starts in October.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes joined a coalition of 25 other states in challenging the order on Wednesday.
"This is a win for every Arizona voter and the rule of law," Mayes said of the court order in a statement on Friday. "Arizonans have voted safely and securely by mail for decades. In a system designed by Republicans, at least three-quarters of Arizona voters choose to vote by mail. Today the court agreed that the federal government cannot upend our election system just weeks before ballots go out.”
-
Find everything you need to know about elections in Arizona and Maricopa County from KJZZ's politics team. -
Former Cardinals kicker Jay Feely is the only Arizona candidate to speak at this year’s Republican National Convention in Dallas. In his speech Wednesday, Feely accused his congressional opponent, Democrat Amish Shah, of supporting a swath of issues Feely called “socialist.” -
Generations of Latino immigrants have come to the United States in search of the American Dream. But today, that dream can seem more elusive than ever. And a new report from the Pew Research Center shows Latinos are split on whether or not the American Dream is attainable today. -
Adrian Fontes wants to get as many Arizonans as he can inoculated. But in this case, it isn't against the latest virus. It's against the misinformation he says that seems to blossom every election. -
Conservative political activists working with Turning Point Action posted fake images on social media claiming a group of Democrats, including a progressive state lawmaker, are supporting Republican Andy Biggs in the state’s race for governor.
