A federal judge on Wednesday made permanent her earlier ruling blocking President Donald Trump’s administration from carrying out most of his first executive order targeting elections — an order that included a requirement for voters to show documentary proof of citizenship when signing up to vote.
U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper, based in Boston, issued the permanent ruling, which builds on a preliminary injunction she put in place a year ago that had temporarily halted many of the administration’s proposed election changes.
Judge Casper dismissed the administration’s contention that the lawsuit — filed by Democratic state attorneys general — was filed too soon because the new rules hadn’t yet taken effect. She sided with the challengers, finding that the U.S. Constitution grants authority over elections to the states and Congress, not the president, and that Trump’s order crossed those boundaries.
In her written opinion, Casper stated that the Constitution “does not grant the President any specific powers over elections.”
The executive order in question would have mandated that individuals provide documentary citizenship proof when registering to vote, barred mail-in ballots from being counted if they arrived after Election Day — even if postmarked on time — and threatened to cut off certain federal funding to states that didn’t comply.
New York Attorney General Letitia James released a statement praising the court’s decision, saying she was thankful the ruling had stopped Trump’s “unconstitutional attempt to seize control of our elections” and pledging to keep defending voting rights in this year’s midterm elections.
“Generations of Americans fought tirelessly for the right to vote, and we honor their legacy by protecting that right against anyone who tries to undermine it,” James said.
The White House and Department of Justice did not respond to requests for comment.
Wednesday’s decision is the latest in a series of court defeats for the elections executive order Trump signed shortly after beginning his second term. He has since issued a second executive order on elections — this one aimed at creating a national voter list and restricting mail-in voting — which is also facing legal challenges on multiple fronts.
Last fall, a separate federal judge in Washington, D.C., overseeing a different legal challenge brought by civil rights and Democratic Party-aligned organizations, blocked the government from adding the citizenship proof requirement to the federal voter registration form. That same judge later prohibited the Secretary of Defense from requiring military members to show documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote or requesting ballots.
Recognizing the legal obstacles to implementing a citizenship proof requirement through executive action, Trump has been pushing Congress to pass legislation achieving the same goal. The SAVE America Act cleared the House but has stalled in the Senate, prompting Trump to call for eliminating the filibuster that is holding up the bill.
In a related development Wednesday, Trump abruptly called off the expected signing of a bipartisan housing bill, announcing he would not sign any legislation until Congress first passes his proof-of-citizenship voting requirement.
Separately, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to soon issue a ruling on whether mail-in ballots must be received by Election Day to be counted. That decision could immediately affect rules in 14 states that currently allow grace periods — ranging from a few days to several weeks — for ballots postmarked by Election Day.
