A federal court today issued a decisive ruling in League of Women Voters Education Fund v. Trump, permanently blocking a provision of President Trump’s March voting executive order that sought to add a requirement to show a passport or similar document proving citizenship when registering to vote with the federal voter registration form that would disproportionately impact voters of color. The decision grants summary judgment to the plaintiffs, finding that the president lacks the authority to unilaterally alter election procedures — powers that rest with Congress and the states.
The ruling makes permanent the preliminary injunction issued in the case in April, and reaffirms a foundational principle of American democracy: no president can violate the separation of powers to change our elections and erect barriers that disenfranchise eligible voters.
In a joint statement, plaintiffs and counsel, who are a coalition of voting and civil rights organizations, said:
“The court’s ruling confirms what we have long argued: the president may not rewrite election law to impose a burdensome show-your-papers rule that would shut out countless Americans from the ballot box. This executive order was an attempted overreach of power, bypassing the Constitution’s clear allocation of authority to Congress and the states to set election rules. Our democracy is strongest when every eligible voter can register and vote free from expensive and unnecessary requirements.”
The League of Women Voters Education Fund, League of Women Voters of the United States, League of Women Voters of Arizona, Hispanic Federation, NAACP, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, and Asian and Pacific Islander Vote are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of D.C., Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and LatinoJustice PRLDEF.
A link to the court’s opinion is here.
More on the case is here.
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