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First Circuit Refuses to Stay District Court Injunction Against Trump's Executive Order on Mail-In Voting

The Court rightly ruled the executive branch has no authority to restrict mail-in voting.

Ilya Somin | 9.10.2026 5:10 PM

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I recently wrote about how Donald Trump's executive order seeking to curb mail-in voting is an attack on federalism and separation of powers. The Constitution gives states primary authority over election administration, subject to potential modification by congressional legislation. Today, in League of Women Voters v. Trump, a unanimous panel of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit rejected the Trump Administration's motion to stay the trial court injunction blocking implementation of the US Postal Service rule implementing Trump's order. Here is a key excerpt from the ruling:

Appellants have not demonstrated entitlement to a stay. Most prominently, appellants
have not made a strong showing that the district court erred in determining that the Final Rule is likely unlawful. The district court concluded, and we agree, that the Final Rule is likely a regulation of the manner of holding elections for members of Congress, which the Elections Clause of the Constitution assigns to the States and Congress, and not to an executive agency, such as the Postal Service,........

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