Federal appeals court blocks trump's vote-by-mail order

A federal appeals court has rejected the Trump administration's request to implement an executive order aimed at tightening rules for mail-in voting in 23 states before the November elections.

Appeals court rules against trump's voting order

The Boston-based First US Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 ruling on Saturday, declining the administration's bid to lift an injunction imposed by a lower court judge on June 25. The injunction blocked key parts of the Republican president's order, which the lower court deemed unconstitutional.

In seeking to pause the US District Judge Indira Talwani's ruling while pursuing an appeal, the Department of Justice argued that since government agencies had yet to finalize actions and policies to implement Trump's directive, any lawsuit challenging the order was premature.

However, the appeals court disagreed, stating that the Trump executive order lays out a clear set of rapidly approaching deadlines for states to coordinate with federal officials and comply with new voting procedures.

As the district court reasoned, the Plaintiff States have no practical choice but to respond to the order now. The judges wrote,