OAKLAND, California — OAKLAND, California — California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on Tuesday that a coalition of state leaders secured a legal victory against Executive Order No. 14399, President Trump’s second directive concerning elections. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit refused to halt a district court order that blocks specific sections of the executive order in the plaintiff states through the upcoming fall midterm elections.
The appeals court denied requests from the U.S. Department of Justice and intervening states to pause the lower court’s injunction. Three judges on the First Circuit unanimously agreed that a provision directing the U.S. Postal Service to issue regulations barring mail ballots for voters not on new USPS lists of enrolled mail voters should not take effect while the appeal proceeds.
The order also blocks directives requiring the Department of Homeland Security to create voter eligibility lists for each state. The government had conceded that these lists would be incomplete and could expose state officials to possible prosecution if they mailed ballots to individuals deemed ineligible by the federal government.
Bonta stated, "the Trump administration lacks constitutional authority to dictate how states run elections, and that the decision keeps key provisions of the order blocked for the fall midterms in the plaintiff states while the states continue defending the right to vote and the rule of law."