US judge blocks Trump administration’s bid to restrict mail-in voting

Ruling comes amid drive by Republican administration to reshape rules around voting ahead of midterms

The Trump administration's plan to deny mail-in ballots to states that would not give their voter rolls to federal officials was blocked Thursday morning by a federal judge in Boston.

US district judge Indira Talwani ruled that the provisions of an executive order issued by Donald Trump on 31 March requiring the postal service to require the use of a barcode tracking system for ballot envelopes tied to US Citizenship and Immigration Services data was unconstitutional.