An Obama-appointed federal judge permanently blocked President Trump’s executive order requiring proof of citizenship to vote, ruling Wednesday that the president overstepped his constitutional authority.
U.S. District Judge Denise Casper concluded the Constitution gives primary election authority to states and Congress — not the executive branch.
The ruling makes permanent an injunction Casper issued last year in a lawsuit filed by Democratic attorneys general from 19 blue states.
“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.”
Trump’s executive order sought to require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register, prohibit states from counting mail ballots received after Election Day even if postmarked on time, and withhold federal funds from states refusing to comply.
Casper ruled the administration lacked authority to impose those changes through executive action.
In her 59-page opinion, the judge rejected the administration’s evidence of election problems, writing the Justice Department failed to establish the widespread fraud it cited in defending the policy.
Casper claimed there is “no evidence in this record of widespread ‘illegal voting, discrimination, fraud, and other forms of malfeasance and error’ within American elections.”
The judge also concluded the order would disenfranchise thousands of voters.
The decision is another legal setback for the administration’s election-integrity efforts. Courts have repeatedly blocked initiatives advanced during Trump’s second term.
Additional lawsuits are challenging a separate executive order creating a nationwide voter database and tightening mail voting requirements. Earlier this week, another federal judge blocked the administration’s attempt to use an immigration database to verify voter rolls.
Despite the court rulings, Trump has continued urging Congress to enact proof-of-citizenship requirements through legislation.
The Republican-backed SAVE America Act passed the House but remains stalled in the Senate.
Trump renewed that push Wednesday, saying he would withhold his signature from a bipartisan housing bill until Congress approves voter citizenship verification requirements.
