Federal appeals court upholds ruling blocking Trump’s order to create federal voter list

A U.S. appellate court on Saturday upheld a federal ruling that, in nearly half of all states, blocked President Trump’s executive order to create a list of eligible voters and limit the delivery of mail ballots to people on that list.

The ruling by judges of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Trump administration’s effort to move forward with the mail-in voting restrictions in 23 U.S. states that sued ahead of November’s midterm elections. It followed an initial injunction ordered by a federal judge in Boston in June, which prevented the administration from enforcing Mr. Trump’s executive order.

Mr. Trump issued the order in March, requiring the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the commissioner of the Social Security Administration to create a “state citizenship list” of eligible voters. It also ordered the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to people on that list.

The president touted the proposed changes as safeguards to keep non-U.S. citizens from voting.

“The cheating on mail-in voting is legendary,” he said in the Oval Office before signing the executive order.

But state election officials argued they were ripe for abuse and could cause chaos.

Democratic officials in 23 states and the District of Columbia challenged Mr. Trump’s order in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Boston. They argued that the president’s order was unconstitutional because the states and Congress, not the president, have the authority to set election rules.

U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani, who was nominated by former Democratic President Barack Obama, agreed and halted Mr. Trump’s order from being implemented for the Nov. 3 elections — but only in the states that have sued.

The White House and the Justice Department did not immediately return an email message seeking comment Sunday.