A federal judge on Friday halted key parts of President Trump’s executive order aimed at overhauling U.S. elections, marking the second time a court has intervened to block the administration’s efforts to enforce stricter voting regulations.
U.S. District Judge Denise Casper granted an injunction sought by a coalition of Democratic attorneys general, stopping the enforcement of five sections of the executive order. The blocked provisions primarily centered on new requirements mandating documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.
Casper’s ruling follows a similar decision issued in April by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., who also blocked sections of the order dealing with the same citizenship proof requirements.
“There is no dispute (nor could there be) that U.S. citizenship is required to vote in federal elections and the federal voter registration forms require attestation of citizenship,” wrote Casper, an appointee of former President Barack Obama. “The issue here is whether the President can require documentary proof of citizenship where the authority for election requirements is in the hands of Congress, its statutes … do not require it, and the statutorily created [Election Assistance Commission] is required to go through a notice and comment period and consult with the States before implementing any changes to the federal forms for voter registration.”
As part of her decision, Casper blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with any changes to federal voter registration forms that would require additional documentation beyond what is currently mandated by law. She also prohibited the administration from tying federal election funding to states’ compliance with a new rule that would require all ballots to be received by Election Day to be counted.
Another provision she blocked was a directive to Attorney General Pam Bondi, instructing her to pursue civil or criminal penalties against states that count absentee or mail-in ballots received after Election Day when certifying results for federal offices.
The ruling deals another setback to Trump’s efforts to impose more stringent federal voting standards, particularly around voter eligibility and ballot deadlines, which have faced pushback from multiple legal challenges across the country.