The Daily Fuckup

A federal judge in Massachusetts has refused to put on hold her June 25 ruling that blocked parts of President Donald Trump’s mail-voting order, leaving the injunction in force in 23 states and the District of Columbia while the government appeals.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani denied the Justice Department’s request for a stay pending appeal on July 7, meaning the federal defendants remain barred, for now, from enforcing the challenged provisions against the plaintiff states. Her earlier decision was a merits ruling: she granted summary judgment to the states and entered declaratory and injunctive relief against the disputed portions of the executive order and related federal action.

The case centers on an executive order that sought to tighten federal control over election-related practices, including limits affecting mail ballots. The multistate plaintiffs, led by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, argued that the administration had no authority to rewrite rules that the Constitution and federal law leave to the states and Congress. Talwani agreed at the summary-judgment stage, concluding the challenged provisions could not stand.

The latest ruling does not end the lawsuit. The administration can still pursue its appeal, and the injunction can be revisited by a higher court. But the immediate result is simple: the government did not win a pause, so the June 25 order remains operative in the jurisdictions covered by the case.