MADISON, Wis. – A federal judge in Boston today blocked key aspects of the presidential executive order granting the United States Postal Service (USPS) a key role in mail-in ballot administration and seeking to limit who can receive mail ballots. The ruling applies to the 23 states that challenged the executive order, including the state of Wisconsin.

In State of California v. Trump, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani concluded that the President “lacks any authority to compile voter lists for each State,” has no authority to intimidate state and local election officials to use a USPS-compiled “Confirmed Citizenship List” rather than state registration lists, and lacks “constitutional or statutory authority” to impose a requirement that states retain election materials for five years. The court further held that the USPS “lacks authority to promulgate regulations on voting.”

Law Forward filed a “friend of the court” amicus brief in this case in May. The brief argues that the Trump executive order would conflict with and upend Wisconsin’s uniquely decentralized election system and could disenfranchise eligible voters ahead of the next statewide election. The five amici represented by Law Forward include the nonprofit organizations Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and EXPO of Wisconsin as well as three Wisconsin voters who attend college out-of-state.

“This is good news for Wisconsin voters. In this case, the judge recognized that only states have the authority to regulate significant aspects of their elections, including determining voter eligibility, compiling voter registration lists, and administering mail-in voting, and that the attempt to create a federal voter list and punish states that refuse to use it is unlawful federal overreach. The President has no more authority to decide which voters in Wisconsin receive absentee ballots to return by mail than he does to pick the winners of elections,” said Doug Poland, Director of Litigation for Law Forward.

The case will likely head to the appellate court. Currently, a parallel case is pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. In that case, DSCC vs. Trump, Law Forward also filed an amicus brief representing the same Wisconsin groups and individuals.

In other good news for Wisconsin voters, on Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago denied expedited review in United States v. WEC. In that case, filed last December, the U.S. Department of Justice attempted to secure unredacted lists of Wisconsin voters. A federal judge in Madison dismissed the USDOJ’s lawsuit last month. On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the State of Michigan could protect private voter information in a similar case. Law Forward, along with the ACLU, represents Common Cause and individual voters who intervened in the case to oppose USDOJ’s efforts.

“The fact that the Seventh Circuit did not agree to rush this case means that it is very unlikely the matter will be settled before the November election. In addition, the first appellate ruling in the Sixth Circuit is a strong endorsement of the foundational constitutional principle that election administration is the job of the states,” said Poland.

The Trump administration is now 0-10 in its attempts to secure state voter rolls. Nine federal district court judges in nine states have ruled against turning over unredacted voter lists to the federal government, including U.S. District Judge James Peterson, who ruled in favor of the Wisconsin Elections Commission in May. The Sixth Circuit’s decision on Wednesday brings to ten the total number of courts that have rejected the USDOJ’s legal attempts to obtain state voter registration lists.  Postmaster General David Steiner stated Wednesday, before Judge Talwani’s order, that USPS would not deliver the ballots of any states that refuse to turn over their absentee voter lists to the federal government.