A federal judge on Tuesday barred the U.S. Postal Service from carrying out President Trump's restrictions on mail-in ballots anywhere in the country, expanding an earlier hold that had covered only 23 Democratic-led states less than three months before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

The nationwide injunction from U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston puts a second leash on Trump's March executive order on elections, and it lands as the Supreme Court weighs whether to lift her first one. Together, the two orders make it increasingly unlikely the Postal Service will start screening absentee ballots against a federal citizenship roster before voters begin casting them this fall.

What the ruling does

Talwani, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, granted a preliminary injunction blocking USPS from implementing or enforcing Section 3 of Executive Order 14399 for the November election or any earlier federal contest. Under Trump's order, the Postal Service is supposed to collect state lists of eligible voters and deliver absentee ballots only to people who appear on them.

The judge found that the League of Women Voters and other plaintiff groups were likely to prove Trump's directive exceeded the president's constitutional authority, and that the order was already harming voters. "The EO—even in the absence of a final rule—is thus causing irreparable harm to Plaintiff Organizations’ members through the confusion it has engendered as to how they may vote in the fast-approaching midterm elections," Talwani wrote in a 27-page opinion.

She also faulted the administration for refusing to defend the underlying policy on the merits. "Throughout the multiple actions before district courts, courts of appeal, and the Supreme Court of the United States, the federal government has declined to defend the constitutionality of the EO's directives," Talwani wrote, according to NPR.

Two cases, one order

Tuesday's decision is the second time Talwani has stopped pieces of Executive Order 14399. In June, she halted several provisions in the 23 states, plus the District of Columbia, that sued to challenge the order, a group that includes California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined, 2-1, on July 25 to lift that hold while the government appeals.

The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court on July 27 to intervene in that first case, arguing the states' lawsuit was premature. Tuesday's ruling arose from a separate suit brought by the League of Women Voters and applies in every state. Even if the justices side with the administration on the earlier injunction, Votebeat reported, the newer one will still block the Postal Service from setting up the ballot-screening system in time for the midterms.

Administration pushes back

The Trump administration is expected to appeal Tuesday's ruling to the 1st Circuit. White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said in a statement to Votebeat, "The entire Trump Administration will continue lawfully enacting the agenda President Trump was elected to enact – which includes the safety and security of American elections." Trump has defended the executive order as a barrier to noncitizen voting. "Cheating on mail-in voting is legendary. It’s horrible. Democrats want to use it for cheating," he said, according to Fox News. Studies have found voting by noncitizens to be rare.

Republicans and administration lawyers contend the president may set standards for federal agencies handling ballots, and Fox News noted that Talwani's ruling leaves in place USPS's ability to issue nonbinding guidance to states on ballot-mail envelopes. The Justice Department has told the appeals court it could seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court if lower-court losses continue, a path that could yet revive parts of the order before November.

Talwani gave the plaintiff organizations until Aug. 18 to post a $100 bond. Absentee voters in some states begin receiving ballots in September.