AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.The ruling allowed the Trump administration to continue to pursue changes that include enlisting the Postal Service in checking voters against a national database.Listen · 6:01 min A voter casting a mail-in ballot in June.Credit...Rachel Wisniewski for The New York TimesMay 28, 2026, 10:17 a.m. ETA federal judge on Thursday declined, for the moment, to block an executive order President Trump signed in March targeting mail-in voting and directing the creation of a federal database of citizens to help guide states on voter eligibility.The decision allows the Trump administration to continue pursuing measures to insert the federal government into the administration of elections that are otherwise managed by the states. The administration has proposed changes at the Postal Service and having the Homeland Security Department compile state-by-state voter lists using Social Security data and other information drawn from federal databases.In a 26-page opinion, Judge Carl J. Nichols wrote that it was premature for the court to intervene. He found that the Trump administration had yet to carry out much of the order, leaving most of the harms predicted by the lawsuit still hypothetical. He added that if evidence emerged that the changes were burdening state officials or sowing confusion, the Democratic-aligned groups who have sued to block the order could return to court.“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,” he wrote. “Plaintiffs may, of course, renew their motions if and when those future actions occur.”The ruling came as the Trump administration has moved aggressively since last year to compile voter roll data at the national level over the objections of state officials and voting rights organizations. Several federal judges have struck down efforts by the administration to request voter information from the states.A group of Democratic organizations and lawmakers had sued to stop the executive order, arguing that it was a violation of federal privacy law to compile a centralized database of eligible voters and also unlawful interference in state elections to circulate that data among local officials. The case combined three separate lawsuits brought by groups including the N.A.A.C.P., the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and included Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the Senate and House minority leaders.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT