States File New Lawsuit Over Trump Mail-Voting Order as Judge Lifts Earlier Injunction

A federal judge in Boston lifted a nationwide injunction that had previously blocked the U.S. Postal Service from implementing parts of President Donald Trump's executive order limiting mail-in voting ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Separately, a coalition of roughly two dozen Democratic-controlled states filed a new lawsuit against the Postal Service, seeking to block it from carrying out provisions of the order. The lawsuit and the judge's ruling both occurred within the same 24-to-48-hour period around August 26, 2026, and are related but distinct legal actions concerning the same underlying executive order. The Boston ruling followed a related U.S. Supreme Court action that had lifted one injunction blocking part of Trump's order, according to the Associated Press and The Guardian. NPR reported that the Boston judge's decision clears the way for USPS to move forward with implementing the order for now, though the outlet noted a new injunction blocking the policy could be issued soon. The new states' lawsuit, reported by ABC News, PBS NewsHour, and The Guardian, was filed in the days following the Supreme Court's action and targets the Postal Service specifically, arguing the order should not be carried out before the midterms. The states involved and the specific legal arguments in the new complaint were not detailed across multiple sources. As of the latest reporting, the Postal Service's ability to act on the mail-in voting order remains legally unsettled, with the Boston ruling described by NPR as a temporary clearance rather than a final resolution. Further court action, including a possible new injunction, is anticipated but unconfirmed in timing or outcome. The precise midterm election deadlines affected by the order and the full scope of restrictions it imposes on mail-in voting were not specified consistently across the available reports. Multiple related developments circulated in the same news cycle, including a Caribbean drug-boat military strike and Iran-related Strait of Hormuz negotiations, but these are separate events unrelated to the mail-voting litigation.