Description
WASHINGTON (TNND) — A second judge has blocked portions of President Donald Trump's executive order seeking to overhaul U.S. elections and require proof of citizenship to register to vote.
U.S. District Judge Denise Casper of Massachusetts granted a preliminary injunction in response to a legal challenge brought by attorneys general from 19 states, calling it unconstitutional.
"Day after day, we continue to witness President Trump’s utter disdain for the rule of law. Let me remind him: He is not a king,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said when announcing the filing. “When he took office, he swore to ‘preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.’ He also has a constitutional obligation to ‘take care that the laws be faithfully executed,’ and that doesn’t involve rewriting them however he sees fit. My fellow attorneys general and I are taking him to court because this Executive Order is nothing but a blatantly illegal power grab and an attempt to disenfranchise voters. Neither the Constitution nor Congress authorizes the President’s attempted voting restrictions. We will not be bullied by him. We will fight like hell in court to stop him."
Casper wrote in the ruling that, “The Constitution does not grant the President any specific powers over elections." She added that the states had a likelihood of success in their legal challenges.
She also noted that when it comes to citizenship, “there is no dispute (nor could there be) that U.S. citizenship is required to vote in federal elections and the federal voter registration forms require attestation of citizenship.”
In April, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. blocked parts of the executive order, including the proof-of-citizenship requirement for the federal voter registration form.
Trump said in the March executive order that the U.S. “largely relies on self-attestation" to prove citizenship for voting, noting the country doesn’t enforce basic and necessary “election protections” employed by developed nations.
"Free, fair, and honest elections unmarred by fraud, errors, or suspicion are fundamental to maintaining our constitutional Republic. The right of American citizens to have their votes properly counted and tabulated, without illegal dilution, is vital to determining the rightful winner of an election."
The order also would require states to exclude any mail-in or absentee ballots received after Election Day and puts states’ federal funding at risk if election officials don’t comply. Currently, 18 states and Puerto Rico accept mailed ballots received after Election Day as long they are postmarked on or before that date, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
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Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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