A federal judge in Boston on Wednesday lifted a nationwide block on 
Donald Trump's executive order limiting mail voting, as Democratic-led states filed a new lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Service. The decision by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani temporarily clears the way for the administration to implement the restrictions ahead of the November midterms.
Why did the judge lift the block? Talwani said she was "compelled" to lift it after the Supreme Court's conservative majority ruled that a similar injunction she had granted in a separate case was premature, PBS NewsHour reported. She nevertheless said the executive order could unleash "chaos" and called it "likely unconstitutional." She also found the administration had violated a separate injunction she had placed on the Postal Service in drafting its new rule, though she took no action against the government.
What does the Postal Service rule do? The rule, which PBS NewsHour reported was published late Friday, would require states to follow a uniform envelope style for mail ballots and give the Postal Service a list of voters eligible to receive them. Election officials have said it will be impossible to implement before the first wave of mail ballots goes out next week. The executive order also directs the Department of Homeland Security to build a database of U.S. citizens who are eligible voters.
Who is challenging it? The states brought the new suit after the Supreme Court found their original case premature because the Postal Service rule had not been finalized, PBS NewsHour reported. New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of 25 Democratic attorneys general filing the lawsuit, said "USPS has no authority to decide who can and cannot vote by mail." The League of Women Voters, which originally filed one of the cases before Talwani, also asked Wednesday for a new court order blocking the plan. A third lawsuit, filed in May in Washington, has so far failed to win a block from courts there.
What has the administration said? White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said the Postal Service proposals were "commonsense measures that protect the security of mail-in ballots" and that the administration would continue working to implement them. The Postal Service said it would not comment because of the pending lawsuit. Asked Thursday about North Carolina, where mail-in ballots are due to go out next week, Trump said of the Supreme Court decision: "It was a great ruling for the Republican Party."
Figures referenced: Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
