BOSTON – A federal judge on June 13 blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from implementing parts of his sweeping executive order overhauling federal elections, including by requiring proof of US citizenship to register to vote and barring states from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day.
US District Judge Denise Casper in Boston issued a preliminary injunction at the behest of 19 Democratic-led states who had argued that the Republican president lacked the authority to mandate changes to elections and the states’ voting procedures.
The lawsuit is one of several across the nation challenging Mr Trump’s March 25 executive order, which he signed after years of raising doubts about the integrity of the US electoral system and falsely claiming that his 2020 loss to Democratic former President Joe Biden resulted from widespread voter fraud.
While parts of Mr Trump’s order had already been blocked in April by a judge in Washington, Judge Casper’s ruling went further as she concluded the states had established key pieces of the president’s order were likely unlawful and unconstitutional.
“The Constitution does not grant the president any specific powers over elections,” Judge Casper, an appointee of Democratic president Barack Obama, wrote.
She said “the text of the Election Day statutes require only that all votes are cast by Election Day, not that they are received by that date”.
As a result, nothing bars 13 of the suing states that accept mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day from counting them, the judge wrote, as she blocked the US Department of Justice from pursuing civil or criminal enforcement actions against any states that do not comply with Mr Trump’s order.
Judge Casper also faulted provisions of Mr Trump’s order tasking the US Election Assistance Commission with updating the federal voter registration form to require people to submit documentary proof they are US citizens.
She said no one disputes that US citizenship is required to vote in federal elections, but “the authority for election requirements is in the hands of Congress”, which has never required documentary proof of citizenship.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment, but the administration in court had argued that Mr Trump’s order was lawful and that any legal challenge to its provisions was premature.
In announcing the executive order, Mr Trump said it was needed to “straighten out our elections”.
He and his Republican allies have made baseless claims about widespread voting by non-citizens, which rarely occurs.
