A second elections order, reissuing what courts already struck down

Lawsuits were filed within days of signing, including one by Democratic officials from 23 states and D.C. and a separate suit by Democratic campaign committees. On August 24, 2026 the Supreme Court allowed the administration to proceed with key parts of the order, including DHS's state-by-state voter lists. On September 4, 2026 a federal judge in Massachusetts preliminarily enjoined the Postal Service rule implementing its mail-ballot provisions. Litigation continues.

A year after EO 14248 (ELP-02) was substantially blocked, Trump signed a second elections order, 'Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,' on March 31, 2026, directing DHS and SSA to compile state-by-state 'Citizenship Lists' and, for the first time in US Postal Service history, instructing USPS to determine which voters are eligible to receive and send mail ballots at all.

At least five legal challenges were filed within days of signing, per the Bipartisan Policy Center's tracking. Legal analysts writing in Brookings assessed that the order may not be intended to survive court review at all, but rather, as characterized by unnamed legal experts, to 'undermine confidence in the electoral system' regardless of its ultimate legal fate.

Reissuing substantially similar provisions to those already struck down a year earlier, rather than seeking legislative authorization, after the first attempt's near-total defeat in court, is itself evidence relevant to the order's purpose: either a good-faith belief the second attempt would fare differently, or an acknowledgment that the disruption of litigation and public confusion has value independent of the order's ultimate survival.

On August 24, 2026 the Supreme Court, 6-3 on its emergency docket in the 23-state case, allowed the administration to move ahead with key parts of the order, including DHS's state-by-state lists of eligible voters. On September 4, 2026 Judge Indira Talwani (D. Mass.) found the Postal Service rule implementing the order's mail-ballot provisions likely unlawful and unconstitutional and issued a preliminary injunction. The June 22, 2026 ruling by Judge Sparkle Sooknanan setting aside the 2025 SAVE database overhaul concerns the first order, EO 14248 (ELP-02), not this one.

Documented

Contested: on August 24, 2026 the Supreme Court, 6-3 on its emergency docket, allowed key parts of the order to take effect, including DHS's state-by-state voter lists; on September 4, 2026 Judge Indira Talwani (D. Mass.) preliminarily enjoined the Postal Service rule implementing the order's mail-ballot provisions as likely unlawful and unconstitutional. The June 22, 2026 SAVE ruling concerns the first order, EO 14248 (ELP-02), not this one

Signed 2026-03-31; legal challenges filed within days; Supreme Court stay 2026-08-24; USPS rule preliminarily enjoined 2026-09-04