BOSTON, Massachusetts (Reuters) — A federal appeals court on Saturday declined to allow US President Donald Trump’s administration to implement in 23 states his executive order that aims to tighten rules ‌for mail-in voting ahead of November elections that will decide control of Congress.

The Boston-based 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the administration’s request to lift an injunction several Democratic-led states secured on June 25 from a lower-court judge who concluded that key parts of the Republican president’s order were unconstitutional.

In asking the court to pause US District Judge Indira Talwani’s ruling while it pursues an appeal, the US Department of Justice had argued that because government agencies had yet to finalize actions and policies to implement Trump’s directive, any lawsuit challenging his order was premature.

The appeals court, in a 2-1 ruling, rejected that argument.

“As the district court reasoned, the (executive order) lays out a clear set of rapidly approaching deadlines by which states must coordinate with federal officials and comply with new voting procedures — all while the states must also ensure that their officials and the public understand the evolving set of rules that would govern the upcoming September and November elections,” the judges wrote. “The Plaintiff States have no practical choice but to respond to the (order) now.”

Before Talwani ruled, a federal judge in Washington, DC, rejected a related effort by Democrats to block Trump’s order on similar grounds. The........

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