WASHINGTON – The Democratic Party has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over sweeping election system changes, including requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration and restricting mail-in ballot counting.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday in a federal court, seeks to block an executive order that prevents states from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day. The directive also mandates that individuals provide citizenship documentation, such as a passport, to register to vote.
“The President does not get to dictate the rules of our elections,” the lawsuit states, filed by the Democratic National Committee, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and other party leaders.
“The Executive Order seeks to impose radical changes on how Americans register to vote, cast ballots, and participate in our democracy – all of which threaten to disenfranchise lawful voters and none of which is legal,” it further asserts.
President Trump signed the order, titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” on March 25, calling it “the farthest-reaching executive action taken” to secure U.S. elections.
Trump, who continues to dispute the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election, has repeatedly questioned the integrity of the U.S. electoral process. He has promoted baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, particularly concerning absentee voting.
Legal experts swiftly criticized Trump’s executive order, arguing that it constitutes an overreach of presidential authority and could prevent millions of eligible voters from participating in elections.
In addition to the Democratic lawsuit, advocacy groups, including the Campaign Legal Center and the State Democracy Defenders Fund, filed a separate legal challenge against the order.
“The president’s executive order is an unlawful action that threatens to uproot our tested election systems and silence potentially millions of Americans,” said Danielle Lang of the Campaign Legal Center.
“It is simply not within the president’s authority to set election rules by executive decree, especially when they would restrict access to voting in this way.”