A second federal judge ruled Sunday that the Trump administration's plan to alter mail-in balloting is likely illegal and should be blocked before the November election. Judge Carl J. Nichols of the Federal District Court in Washington found the administration had not identified any "evidence that there will be significant fraud in the upcoming elections" if he halted the rule. He wrote the plan created an "increased risk that a significant number of otherwise appropriate absentee or mail-in ballots will ultimately not be counted."

The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and civil rights organizations. Judge Nichols, a Trump appointee, focused on the absence of any federal statute granting the Postal Service power to screen voters. "No statute grants the Postal Service the power to issue key parts of the rule," he wrote.

The Supreme Court is weighing a similar challenge from Massachusetts, where Judge Indira Talwani, an Obama appointee, repeatedly found the plan likely unconstitutional. The Trump administration formally alerted the Supreme Court about Judge Nichols's ruling Monday, arguing that if the justices allow the Postal Service plan, Judge Nichols would be required to lift his block. The rule stemmed from a March executive order directing the Postal Service to preregister mail voters and decline ballots from those whose information was not submitted by state election officers.