 Federal Court Blocks Executive Order that Would Undermine Vote-by-Mail
The executive order would have allowed the U.S. Postal Service to deny ballots to voters not on the federal government’s list
SALEM, OR — Today, in yet another a win for Oregon voters, a federal court blocked President Trump’s March 2026 executive order restricting mail-in voting and infringing upon states’ authority to administer elections.
Oregon joined 22 other states and the District of Columbia in this lawsuit, one of many steps Oregon elected leaders have taken to defend Oregonians’ right to vote.
“The President wants to pick and choose who gets to vote, but, in America, we don’t let Presidents interfere in elections,” Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read said. “The Constitution protects our right to run free, fair elections, and we will defend it. Oregonians decided many years ago that vote-by-mail was our preferred way of voting, and it remains the gold standard for integrity and access nationwide.”
The March 2026 executive order required states to provide sensitive voter information to the federal government, which would use that data to create a nationwide list of approved voters.
As part of his work to implement the executive order, the U.S. Postal Service postmaster recently said that states that did not provide voter information would not have mail ballots delivered at all, effectively denying the right to vote to all eligible Oregonians. Today’s ruling protects Oregon's elections from federal interference.
Oregon pioneered vote-by-mail nearly 30 years ago and several states have joined Oregon with exclusively vote-by-mail elections.
Due to cuts at USPS, for the upcoming November general election the Secretary of State’s office recommends returning ballots via official ballot drop boxes or by mailing at least 1 week before election day.
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