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(CN) — A coalition of 19 states sued President Donald Trump on Thursday over what they called his “blatantly unconstitutional” executive order to overhaul United States elections by requiring documentary proof of citizenship and insisting that all ballots be received by Election Day.
In the scrutinized order, signed by the president last week, Trump claimed the U.S. “fails to enforce basic and necessary election protections” employed by other countries around the world. He called on states to collaborate with the federal government to prosecute “aliens unlawfully registered to vote or casting votes,” and threatened to pull funding from states that don’t comply.
But the states say in their lawsuit Thursday that Trump’s orders exceed the powers of the president and would disenfranchise lawful voters around the country.
“The president has no power to do any of this,” the states say in their 42-page complaint, filed in federal court in Massachusetts. “Neither the Constitution nor Congress has authorized the president to impose documentary proof of citizenship requirements or to modify state mail-ballot procedures.”
The Constitution gives authority over elections to the states. Congress can regulate voting with legislation like the Voting Rights Act, but the actual voting process, historically, has been a state responsibility.
Trump’s order, the suing states claim, “will blatantly transgress on the plaintiff states’ constitutional power to prescribe the time, place, and manner of federal elections.”
Should the election changes go ahead as planned, the states say they’ll face immediate and significant harm from being forced to implement the major changes at “breakneck pace” in time for their next elections.
“Forcing plaintiff states to complete these tasks effectively orders them to invest enormous time and resources, diverting election staff from vital election priorities,” the states say.
The 19 states behind the lawsuit include California, Nevada, Massachusetts, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin — all states with Democratic attorneys general.
“Donald Trump’s attempt to control our elections, intimidate voters and limit Americans’ right to vote is unconstitutional, undemocratic and frankly, un-American,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement Thursday. “We are a democracy — not a monarchy — and this executive order is an authoritarian power grab. With this order, the president is prioritizing his own quest for unchecked power above the rights and will of the public.”
The controversial executive order has already prompted other lawsuits. This week, top Democratic officials including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Governors Association, filed a complaint in Washington, D.C., federal court against the Trump administration.
“The executive order seeks to impose radical changes on how Americans register to vote, cast a ballot and participate in our democracy — all of which threaten to disenfranchise lawful voters and none of which is legal,” the Democrats say in that lawsuit.
Trump’s executive order is the latest example of the president stoking doubt in the electoral process. He’s frequently claimed that certain elections were rigged, most notably his 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, a defeat Trump falsely blamed on widespread voter fraud.
He’s targeted mail-in voting specifically, which has surged in use after the Covid-19 pandemic. Trump has repeatedly and baselessly claimed that voting by mail is rife with fraud — in reality, voter fraud is exceedingly rare — hence his demand to limit the practice in his executive order.
Trump has signed more than 100 executive orders his first two months in office, a historic pace for any U.S. president. He already faces several dozen lawsuits targeting some of his more sweeping and unprecedented orders, like one that strips the Department of Health and Human Services of $11 billion in public health funding.
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