BOSTON, June 18 (Reuters) – A federal judge in Boston on Thursday ruled that Democratic-led states \u200cand voting rights groups could proceed with lawsuits challenging U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order on mail-in voting ahead of November’s elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani could open the door to her blocking the order from being implemented ahead of midterm elections that are set to decide whether Republicans \u200bcan retain control of Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Talwani, who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama,wrote, opens new tab that the potential for Trump’s order to impact the midterm elections and \u200bprimaries scheduled before then meant the plaintiffs’ cases could not wait to be heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The order “both includes multiple \u2060specific directives as to certain actions that federal agencies must take at specified times and requires that definite ‘substantive outcomes’ be implemented \u200bthat will affect the upcoming election,” she wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Postponing judicial review is impracticable and may inflict significant hardship on Plaintiffs,” Talwani said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the judge \u200bsaid many uncertainties exist as to how agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Postal Service, will ultimately implement Trump’s order through rules and policies they must adopt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said those uncertainties justified dismissing for now the plaintiffs’ challenges to Trump’s order as it affects elections after the November 3 midterms, though Talwani left the door open \u200bto them reviving those claims later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a joint statement distributed by the American Civil Liberties Union, plaintiffs including the League of Women \u200bVoters said they are “grateful the court recognized the urgency and stakes of this case and allowed our lawsuit to proceed with respect to this \u200cyear\u2019s elections.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2060White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson in a statement said the administration “will continue to fight for the agenda the president was elected on \u2013 which includes the safety and security of our nation\u2019s elections.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump, a Republican, signed the order on March 31 after calling for years for tighter rules on voting by mail and pushing the false claim that his 2020 election defeat was the result of \u200bwidespread voter fraud. Under the U.S. \u200bConstitution, states are assigned the \u2060role of administering federal elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His order directs the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to compile and transmit to the states a list of confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote in each state, \u200bderived from citizenship and naturalization records and other federal databases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump’s order also requires the U.S. Postal \u200bService to only \u2060deliver ballots to voters on each state’s approved mail-in ballot list. USPS recently moved to implement Trump’s directive by issuing proposed rules requiring states to provide the names and barcodes tied to their mail-in ballots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The order also directs the U.S. Department of Justice to prioritize the investigation \u2060and prosecution \u200bof state and local election officials who issue federal ballots to people deemed \u201cnot \u200beligible\u201d to vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voting rights groups sued the administration along with 23 states and the District of Columbia, arguing Trump’s order is unconstitutional and that he lacks any legal \u200bauthority to assert presidential power over election administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n