Judge hands Trump mail-ballot win for now as Democrats’ next move looms

A federal judge declined Thursday to block President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting mail ballots, delivering a blow to Democrats who claim the order could disenfranchise millions of voters.

The executive order, signed March 31, directs the Department of Homeland Security to compile a list of all adult U.S. citizens living in each state and would direct USPS to deliver mail ballots only to individuals appearing on the lists. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, ruled that the plaintiffs' request for an injunction against the order came too early. 

"Given that the Executive Order does not command Plaintiffs to do anything, and that no agency has yet acted pursuant to the Order in a way that could harm Plaintiffs, they have not suffered any harm at present," Nichols wrote. "For the foregoing reasons, the Court denies Plaintiffs’ Motions for a Preliminary Injunction."

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Democrats and voting rights groups argued that, under the Constitution, state legislatures and Congress are responsible for regulating federal elections, not the president. The order, according to the plaintiffs, could also force USPS to make rules about elections that go beyond its authority.

Trump’s executive order, meanwhile, frames itself as an attempt to enforce federal voting laws, which the president says the executive branch is obligated to do under Article II of the Constitution.

Though Democratic plaintiffs claimed in court that the order could infringe on the constitutional rights of states to regulate their own elections, Nichols ruled the claim too speculative at the current moment. The judge, however, did not rule on the merits of the Democratic arguments and said they could demand an injunction again once the federal government begins the process of actually implementing the executive order.

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"The Court recognizes that the Postal Service may ultimately issue a final rule that directly affects Plaintiffs or their members, or that the Government may develop State Citizenship Lists that omit specific individuals due to particularized flaws," the judge wrote.

"Plaintiffs may, of course, renew their motions if and when those future actions occur. Until then, however, Plaintiffs cannot show that preliminary injunctive relief is warranted," he added.

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One of the primary concerns raised by Democrats is that the executive order directs DHS to use Social Security Administration data, which they claim contains errors and could therefore deprive eligible voters of ballots.

Trump’s order requires that the citizenship lists be transmitted to states within 60 days of federal elections and provides opportunities for individuals and states to correct the lists as necessary in order to address concerns about data inaccuracies. 

Trump has long claimed mail voting is vulnerable to widespread fraud, while election officials and voting experts have said such fraud is rare.

Large numbers of voters identifying with both major parties have reported voting by mail, but Democrats do so more often. 

The White House did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday.