Democratic officials from 19 states filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at reshaping elections across the U.S., arguing it infringes on states’ constitutional authority to manage their own elections.
The lawsuit marks the fourth legal challenge against the executive order, issued just a week prior. It seeks to block key provisions, including a requirement for voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship during registration and a mandate that all mail ballots be received by Election Day.
In court documents, state attorneys general argued, “The President has no power to do any of this. The Elections EO is unconstitutional, antidemocratic, and un-American.”
Trump’s order states that the U.S. has not adequately enforced “basic and necessary election protection.” It also mandates that states exclude any mail-in or absentee ballots received after Election Day, threatening federal funding for states that do not comply. Some states currently count ballots as long as they are postmarked by Election Day or permit voters to correct minor errors.
The lawsuit argues that forcing such changes would violate the Constitution, which grants states the authority to determine the “times, places and manner” of their own elections.
Filed in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, the lawsuit includes the Democratic attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Read the lawsuit.
