In a significant legal setback for President Donald Trump, a federal judge has blocked parts of his executive order aimed at overhauling U.S. elections, including a requirement for proof of citizenship to register to vote. The decision by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, D.C., highlights the ongoing legal battles surrounding election integrity and the limits of presidential power.
Trump’s executive order, signed in March, sought to mandate that all voters provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote. The order was swiftly challenged in court by various groups, including the League of United Latin American Citizens, the League of Women Voters Education Fund, and the Democratic National Committee, who argued that it was unconstitutional. These groups claimed that the requirement would disproportionately affect minority voters and violate the Constitution’s Elections Clause, which grants states and Congress, not the president, the authority to regulate federal elections.
Judge Kollar-Kotelly sided with the plaintiffs, stating that the Constitution entrusts Congress and the states with the authority to regulate federal elections, not the president. She noted that Congress is currently debating its own legislation to address proof-of-citizenship requirements, and that the president cannot bypass this legislative process with an executive order. In her 120-page decision, she granted a preliminary injunction to halt the citizenship requirement while the lawsuit proceeds.
The judge also blocked a separate provision in the executive order that would have required federal agencies offering voter registration opportunities to assess a person’s citizenship before providing a registration form. However, she did not block other parts of the order, such as Trump’s directive to tighten mail ballot deadlines nationwide. She also did not touch Trump’s order to open certain databases to billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to review state voter lists for noncitizens.
The ruling has been celebrated by voting rights advocates who argue that the proof-of-citizenship requirement would have created unnecessary barriers to voter registration. The League of United Latin American Citizens’ national president, Roman Palomares, called the ruling a “victory for voters across the country – particularly voters of color – and our democracy”.
The Trump administration has vowed to continue the legal fight, asserting that the requirement is necessary to restore public confidence in elections. The case is expected to continue through the courts, with further hearings scheduled to determine the long-term fate of the executive order.