A federal judge on Friday blocked parts of President Trump’s executive order on elections, barring certain federal agencies from requesting citizenship status when distributing federal voter registration forms.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the Constitution’s separation of powers places primary authority over election rules with the states and Congress, not the president. “Put simply, our Constitution does not allow the President to impose unilateral changes to federal election procedures,” wrote Kollar-Kotelly, an appointee of President Bill Clinton.
The ruling prevents federal agencies from assessing citizenship before providing voter registration forms to individuals enrolling in public assistance programs and bars the War Department from requiring documentary proof of citizenship when service members register to vote or request ballots.
The White House said the executive order was aimed at strengthening election security and signaled the ruling would be appealed. The ruling follows earlier court actions that blocked portions of Trump’s election order, including prior decisions preventing the administration from adding proof-of-citizenship requirements to federal voter registration forms.
