US President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order on election integrity in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 31, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump suffered another setback Saturday in the White House’s attempt to exert more control over how states run their elections.
Big picture view:
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals backed a lower court’s ruling that an executive order that would create a federal voter list and implement greater restrictions on mail-in voting was unconstitutional.
Local perspective:
The judge’s ruling extends to 23 states and the District of Columbia where Democratic officials filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Boston. (See list below)
The backstory:
The executive order, signed on March 31, required the Homeland Security Secretary to work with the Social Security Administration to create a list of citizens who live in each state and will be over the age of 18 at the time of the next federal election, then send it to the states.
It also barred mail-in ballots from being delivered to anyone who is not on that list, as well as placing other requirements on the U.S. Postal Service.
The challenge and the response
The plaintiffs in the case contend that only the states and Congress are allowed to set the rules for an election. Therefore, they claim, the executive order is unconstitutional.
The other side:
Upon signing the order, the president described the restrictions as safeguards to keep non-U.S. citizens from voting.
The ruling
Judge Indira Talwani agreed with the states’ argument and blocked the implementation for the upcoming November election, but restrained her order only to the states represented by the plaintiffs.
What's next:
The Justice Department told The Associated Press in a statement on Sunday that it is "reviewing all options" for what it will do next and expects the executive order will be upheld.
Full list of states
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Illinois
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
The Source: Information for this article was taken from State of California vs. Trump legal filings, the White House, The Associated Press. This story was reported from Orlando.