# Federal courts block voting restrictions, SNAP limits affecting Nebraska **Published:** 2026-06-29T09:00:54.000Z **Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/29/opinion-hoping-imagining-will-not-be-enough/) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/federal-courts-block-voting-restrictions-snap-limits-affecting-nebraska Multiple federal court rulings this week have blocked federal initiatives that directly affect Nebraska voters and food assistance recipients, marking significant setbacks for the Trump administration's efforts to reshape election administration and government benefit programs. [According to a Nebraska Examiner opinion piece](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/29/opinion-hoping-imagining-will-not-be-enough/), [a federal judge ruled Monday that Nebraska cannot restrict the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to buy sugary drinks](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/23/federal-judge-rules-nebraska-cant-restrict-snap-purchases-of-soda-and-energy-drinks/). [U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that the Agriculture Department lacked the authority to approve state waivers in pilot projects in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia](https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/23/politics/food-stamps-bans-blocked). [The decision is a major setback for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s "Make America Healthy Again" movement, known as MAHA, which is focused on minimizing the consumption of ultraprocessed foods](https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/23/politics/food-stamps-bans-blocked). [Nebraska was the first state to implement such rules last year](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/23/federal-judge-rules-nebraska-cant-restrict-snap-purchases-of-soda-and-energy-drinks/). [Jackson pointed out that her decision is not intended as a comment on whether the bans are a good idea, writing that "the federal defendants and the states may have a genuine desire to improve the health of SNAP households by encouraging healthy choices at the store, and they can take lawful steps to meet those goals."](https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/23/politics/food-stamps-bans-blocked) However, the judge noted that [the authority the USDA is relying on allows the agency to enact pilot projects to test the efficiency of the SNAP program but does not include improving the health and diet of recipients](https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/23/politics/food-stamps-bans-blocked). The ruling has broader implications for Nebraska, where [officials at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said they are currently reviewing the court's decision and will await guidance from the United States Department of Agriculture regarding next steps](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/23/federal-judge-rules-nebraska-cant-restrict-snap-purchases-of-soda-and-energy-drinks/). In voting rights matters, [a federal judge in Massachusetts on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump's executive order seeking to restrict mail voting in federal elections](https://rollcall.com/2026/06/25/judge-blocks-trump-order-to-restrict-mail-voting/). [Judge Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts wrote in a 37-page opinion that the Constitution gives states the primary power to determine election rules, with the opportunity for Congress to make some changes](https://rollcall.com/2026/06/25/judge-blocks-trump-order-to-restrict-mail-voting/). The ruling benefits Nebraska directly, as [the decision largely stopped the United States Postal Service from refusing to deliver mail ballots unless states hand over their voter lists to the Trump administration](https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/judge-blocks-trump-mail-voting-executive-order/). [The judge directed the administration not enforce the order in the more than one dozen states that challenged it](https://rollcall.com/2026/06/25/judge-blocks-trump-order-to-restrict-mail-voting/). The voting and benefits rulings underscore ongoing legal battles over federal versus state authority. [Last month, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that a lawsuit seeking to stop the state from handing over voter data to the U.S. Department of Justice is moot because the information has already been released](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/26/nebraska-supreme-court-rules-voter-data-case-is-moot-because-feds-already-have-records/). [Nebraska is one of 16 states that handed over their complete voter lists, while three states have sent only data already publicly available](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/26/nebraska-supreme-court-rules-voter-data-case-is-moot-because-feds-already-have-records/). ## Sources - [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/29/opinion-hoping-imagining-will-not-be-enough/) - [Federal judge rules Nebraska can't restrict SNAP purchases of soda](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/23/federal-judge-rules-nebraska-cant-restrict-snap-purchases-of-soda-and-energy-drinks/) - [Judge blocks Trump order to restrict mail voting](https://rollcall.com/2026/06/25/judge-blocks-trump-order-to-restrict-mail-voting/) - [Nebraska Supreme Court rules voter data case is moot](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/26/nebraska-supreme-court-rules-voter-data-case-is-moot-because-feds-already-have-records/) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/29/opinion-hoping-imagining-will-not-be-enough/.