This is Executive Dysfunction, a newsletter that highlights one under-the-radar story about how Trump is changing the law—or how the law is pushing back—and keeps you posted on the latest from Slate’s Jurisprudence team. Click here to receive it in your inbox each week.

It would be easy to hail the U.S. Supreme Court justices as heroes for their ruling in Watson v.RNC last week, which preserves states’ right to count mailed ballots sent by Election Day, but received days later. The decision is undoubtedly a win for preserving access to U.S. elections. But lest we forget, just two months ago this same Supreme Court severely restricted the voting rights of minority Americans by gutting a key pillar of the Voting Rights Act in Louisiana v. Callais, setting off an undemocratic redistricting war mere months before a consequential midterm election cycle. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has been busy actively abusing his executive authority to wrest control of America’s electoral system from states, coming most recently in the form of abuses by his postmaster general, David Steiner. Steiner testified before Congress last week that the United States Postal Service would not deliver mail ballots in states that don’t hand over their voter rolls to the Trump administration. Though two days later a judge ruled USPS could not do such a thing, the legal battle over U.S. elections is just getting started.

In June, USPS published a proposed rule that detailed how it would not deliver mail ballots in states that had not provided their voter rolls to the federal government, citing compliance with Executive Order 14399. Back in March, Trump signed an order that sought to establish a national voter database by forcing states to provide a list of all of their registered voters, in the pursuit of preventing “voter fraud.” It included a specific call to action for USPS to establish new standards for mail ballots and to refuse to transmit mail ballots from individuals who live in states that had not provided a list of their voters to the federal government. In the months after this order was signed, most states did not comply, and the Justice Department filed lawsuits to force their hands. That suit has been unsuccessful in court.

Nevertheless, Steiner directed USPS to comply with the president’s order and was called to Congress to testify about it last week. This is when Steiner confirmed to senators that USPS would not deliver mail ballots in states where no voter roll data had been submitted to the federal government, arguing that it’s all in an effort to “make sure the right ballots are going to the right people.”

At least five lawsuits were filed against Trump’s executive order, including by 23 states and Washington, D.C., who banded together to file suit. One day after Steiner’s testimony, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled on the states’ case, blocking the order from taking effect after finding it is unconstitutional and in violation of the Constitution’s separation of powers doctrine. “The Constitution reserves the power to determine voter eligibility to the States alone. Neither the Executive Branch nor Congress may interfere with this power,” Talwani wrote, also noting how it’s clear that Trump’s order is an attempt to threaten states with criminal prosecution if they don’t comply. This will inevitably chill local election officials from being able to fulfill their legal obligations to carry out U.S. elections.

Talwani also picked apart Steiner’s new rule for USPS, pointing out that there is no federal law enacted by Congress that gives USPS authority to control voting by mail. Any existing voting-related guidance that USPS does have is not binding, it’s merely recommended. Plus, the time frame for states to comply with Steiner’s new rule makes no allowance for Congress’ mandated procedure regarding USPS rulemaking.

“This is a major blow to Trump’s plot to rig the midterms,” Robert Reich, law professor at University of California, Berkeley, and former secretary of labor, commented on Bluesky. “And the cruel irony is that it will make it easier for Trump to keep voting by mail himself.” Ever since his 2020 loss to Joe Biden, Trump has incessantly attacked mail voting, which tends to favor Democrats, despite using it himself.

The Trump administration is likely to appeal Talwani’s order, and there are still plenty more lawsuits against the president’s executive order on mail voting that need to play out in the courts. Meanwhile,........

© Slate