A federal judge has blocked parts of President Trump’s executive order attempting to restrict mail-in ballots as the midterm elections approach. The order, challenged in court by 23 states as well as the District of Columbia, was struck down Thursday by Obama-appointed Judge Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She argued that the Constitution empowers states and Congress to oversee elections, not Trump. Trump’s order, signed in March, would force the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Postal Service to create lists of voters eligible for mail ballots, and deny anyone not on the list from receiving one. “The States alone determine voter-eligibility requirements, subject only to the outer limits of the Constitution,” Talwani wrote in her decision. She also noted the high risk of error involved in the endeavor, writing that the federal government lacked “the ability to create complete and accurate lists of the U.S. citizens residing in every State.”“Donald Trump’s illegal and unconstitutional Executive Order sought to undermine eligible voters’ ability to make their voices heard in our democracy. Our Constitution is clear: the authority to set our election rules belongs to the states,” Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro wrote on X after the ruling was announced. “The right to vote is the foundation of our democracy, and I will take on anyone—up to and including the President—who tries to undermine that fundamental right.”The president has long railed against mail-in ballots as fraudulent, a baseless claim he typically uses whenever his side loses an election. And while Trump’s order was initially allowed to go through in May, this court ruling will be a significant obstacle for his plans, which could disenfranchise thousands of legal voters. “Trump’s vendetta against mail-in voting, which is safe and secure, is about picking who can vote and avoiding accountability,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. “Democrats will continue fighting every day to block all of Trump’s illegal actions and ensure that Americans can freely cast their ballots this year.”Trump has yet to comment on the ruling.