A federal judge in Massachusetts has blocked part of President Donald Trump's executive order that sought to tighten mail-in voting rules ahead of the 2026 US midterm elections. US District Judge Indira Talwani granted a preliminary injunction preventing the US Postal Service (USPS) from implementing the disputed provision, dealing a setback to the administration's efforts to overhaul postal voting procedures before the polls.

The contested policy, outlined in a proposed rule, would have allowed USPS to withhold mailing ballots to states that declined to share their absentee voter lists with the federal government. Postmaster General David Steiner had indicated this approach during questioning from a Senate Democrat over the proposal. The ruling temporarily halts that element of the plan while legal challenges continue.