# Federal judge allows Trump mail voting order to stand for now  
**Published:** 2026-05-28T14:08:41.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/28/repub/trump-order-limiting-voting-by-mail-will-stand-for-now-federal-judge-rules/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/federal-judge-allows-trump-mail-voting-order-to-stand-for-now

A federal judge declined Thursday to block President Donald Trump's executive order restricting voting by mail, in a setback for voting rights groups and Democrats who sought to halt the directive ahead of the November midterm elections.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee in Washington, rejected the request by Democrats and civil rights groups that had argued Trump's order would likely be found unconstitutional because the states and Congress, not the president, have the power to set election rules. According to the [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/28/repub/trump-order-limiting-voting-by-mail-will-stand-for-now-federal-judge-rules/), the March 31 order faces at least five lawsuits.

Nichols agreed with the Republican Trump administration's contention that it was too early to block the order because it has yet to be implemented. The ruling is significant for Nebraska, where nearly one in four Nebraska voters cast their ballot by mail, and where 11 counties with fewer than 10,000 residents conduct elections entirely by mail, with consistently strong turnout and streamlined election administration.

The executive order calls for the Department of Homeland Security to work with the Social Security Administration to create lists of adult U.S. citizens in each state. It also calls for the U.S. Postal Service to come up with lists of eligible voters and to only deliver mail-in ballots to people on those lists. The order proposes that the postmaster general submit a rule this week to implement the directive.

Democrats and voting rights advocates argue the executive order is unconstitutional, contending that states and Congress—not the president—have authority over federal elections. Election officials argued it was ripe for abuse and could cause chaos, and the postal union has objected to the idea of mail carriers policing ballots.

Democrats and civil rights groups argued it was urgent that Nichols issue a restraining order in the midst of primary season and with states already gearing up for the fall midterm elections. However, Judge Nichols wrote that plaintiffs "cannot show that preliminary injunctive relief is warranted" until federal agencies take action on the order.

The legal battle against the provision now shifts to Boston, where voting rights groups have a separate lawsuit seeking to temporarily block the executive order in federal court. The Trump administration has yet to formally issue lists of eligible voters, and those who filed the initial request for a temporary halt said they'd be back if the administration moves in that direction, with the League of United Latin American Citizens stating it is "ready to resume the fight if and when the administration takes those next steps."

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/28/repub/trump-order-limiting-voting-by-mail-will-stand-for-now-federal-judge-rules/)
- [PBS News - Federal judge refuses to block Trump order to create federal voter list and limit mail voting](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/federal-judge-refuses-to-block-trump-order-to-create-federal-voter-list-and-limit-mail-voting)
- [Civic Nebraska - Vote-by-mail: A tradition worth expanding](https://civicnebraska.org/20250620-vote-mail-tradition-expanding/)

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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/2026/05/28/repub/trump-order-limiting-voting-by-mail-will-stand-for-now-federal-judge-rules/.