A federal judge has permanently blocked the Trump administration from enforcing an executive order that sought to change voting rules. The order, signed last year, required proof of citizenship to register to vote and demanded that mail-in ballots be received by Election Day.
Judge Rules President Lacks Authority Over Elections
According to ABC, Judge Denise Casper ruled on Wednesday that the president does not have the authority to oversee elections. She rejected claims from the administration about “widespread illegal voting, discrimination, fraud, and other forms of malfeasance and error.”
In her ruling, Judge Casper explained: “While the Constitution vests the President with 'executive Power' and commands him to 'take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,' it does not grant the President any specific powers over elections.”
Lawsuit Led to Permanent Block
The decision follows a lawsuit filed in Boston last April by a group of state attorneys general. They challenged Trump’s first executive order on voting. Judge Casper had already issued a preliminary injunction in June last year, and her latest 59-page ruling makes that block permanent.
Judge Casper found that the Department of Justice failed to prove the alleged fraud that was used to justify the order. She noted that the policy would have disenfranchised thousands of voters.
No Evidence of Widespread Fraud
“There is no evidence in this record of widespread 'illegal voting, discrimination, fraud, and other forms of malfeasance and error' within American elections, which the Executive Order purports to safeguard against,” she wrote.
This ruling is another setback for the Trump administration’s attempts to reshape federal elections. Courts have already blocked several efforts to impose federal oversight.
Wider Impact on Election Policies
Multiple lawsuits are challenging Trump’s second executive order, which aimed to create a national database of approved voters. Earlier this week, a judge blocked an attempt to use an immigration database to check voter rolls. Judges across the country have rejected efforts by the Department of Justice to obtain state voter rolls.
The ruling highlights the limits of presidential power over elections and reinforces the role of the courts in protecting voting rights. It also signals continued judicial resistance to federal attempts to control state election processes.
