U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee in Washington, late Wednesday rejected the request by Democrats and civil rights groups that had argued Trump’s order would likely be found unconsiitutional because the states and Congress, not the president, have the power to set election rules.
Trump issued the order in March after a bill he supported to overhaul voting stalled in Congress. The order would have had the federal government create a list of eligible voters and then directed the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to those on the list. Election officials argued it was ripe for abuse and could cause chaos.
The legal battle against the provision now shifts to Boston, where voting rights groups have a separate lawsuit against the executive order in federal court
Since his 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, Trump has argued that mail voting is rife with fraud.
This was Trump's second executive order seeking to overhaul elections and voting. His initial election executive order, issued just months after he took office in his second term, has been blocked by multiple federal judges. That order sought to require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote, among other changes.
