Trump's Election Overhaul Faces Major Legal Challenge Over State Rights And Executive Power
President Donald Trump‘s sweeping executive order overhauling U.S. election procedures faces federal court challenges from 19 Democratic state attorneys general who argue the directive violates constitutional separation of powers and infringes on states’ election authority.
What Happened: A federal hearing in Boston on Friday addressed one of three lawsuits against Trump’s March executive order requiring proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration, prohibiting mail ballots received after Election Day, and setting new voting equipment rules, reported AP news. The order also conditions federal election grants on states adhering to strict ballot deadlines.
“The snowball of executive overreach will grow swiftly and exponentially,” former secretaries of state warned in court filings, arguing the order seeks to “unilaterally coronate the President as the country’s chief election policymaker.”
A separate federal judge in Washington D.C. already halted the citizenship requirement provision, ruling it usurped powers belonging to states and Congress. The Justice Department defended Trump’s authority to direct agencies in carrying out federal voting laws.
The order tasks the U.S. Election Assistance Commission with updating federal voter registration forms to require citizenship documentation. Similar state laws previously blocked 31,000 eligible Kansas voters from registering over a decade ago.
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Why It Matters: Trump’s election directive follows other recent executive orders affecting independent institutions. His February order subjected financial regulators like the SEC and FTC to White House oversight.
“The intent of this is to significantly scale back the independence of independent regulatory agencies,” said George Washington University professor Roger Nober. The election directive raises similar constitutional questions about executive power over voting procedures. The citizenship requirements could also disenfranchise eligible voters who lack accessible documentation, including married women needing both birth certificates and marriage licenses.
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