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A U.S. District Court judge in Massachusetts has ruled that nonpartisan voting rights organizations have legal standing and valid constitutional claims to proceed with a challenge against a presidential executive order that restricts mail-in voting.
The ruling largely denied motions to dismiss filed by the federal government and intervenor defendants. By denying those motions, the court cleared the way for the lawsuit to proceed to a hearing on the plaintiffs’ renewed motion for a preliminary injunction, which aims to block portions of the directive. That hearing is scheduled for Aug. 7, 2026.
In the decision, the court reiterated earlier holdings that specific provisions of the executive order are unconstitutional because they improperly inject executive branch authority into elections, encroaching on powers reserved for Congress and individual states.
The court noted that among its directives, the executive order unlawfully instructs the United States Postal Service to refrain from transmitting ballots belonging to eligible voters.
The judge found that the implementation of the executive order poses a “plausibly likely and imminent” risk of disenfranchisement for members of the plaintiff groups in the upcoming election. The court highlighted that affected members include individuals who rely on mail voting, such as overseas residents, out-of-state residents, people with disabilities, and those unable to travel to physical polling locations.
The court also acknowledged that the executive order has created confusion and disrupted the voting rights organizations’ primary operations, forcing them to divert time and resources toward clarifying voting rules rather than standard voter education.
The lawsuit was brought by several organizations, including the League of Women Voters, the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, the Association of Americans Resident Overseas, U.S. Vote Foundation, OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Legal representation for the plaintiffs includes the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Massachusetts, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, the Legal Defense Fund, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC, and LatinoJustice PRLDEF.
Following the ruling, the plaintiffs and their legal counsel released a joint statement regarding the impact of the order on their operations leading into the November election.
“With the November election around the corner, the voting rights groups who filed this lawsuit should be deeply immersed in the vital work of ensuring that their members — and all eligible voters — are prepared to cast their ballots,” the plaintiffs and counsel said in the statement. “Instead, the groups have had to limit their voter outreach and spend considerable time and money on revising materials and counseling members who are confused and fearful about the executive order’s impact on their right to vote.”
“We are pleased that the court recognized the disruption and chaos caused by the executive order and ruled that our clients’ claims can move forward,” the statement continued. “We are committed to fighting this unconstitutional and unlawful executive order and to protecting the right to vote, including the ability to vote by mail.”
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Massachusetts Judge Rules Lawsuit Over Mail-In Voting Executive Order Can Move Forward
