Washington, DC — Today, a federal court judge issued a ruling in League of Women Voters et. al. v. Trump et. al., temporarily blocking the US Election Assistance Commission (EAC) from implementing a provision in the President’s executive order adding a requirement to show a passport or similar document proving citizenship when registering to vote via the federal form. While the case proceeds, this injunction preserves the status quo where would-be-voters already affirm under penalty of perjury that they are US citizens on the federal form.
"The League of Women Voters is heartened by this ruling, which is a major victory for voters across the country,” said Marcia Johnson, chief counsel of the League of Women Voters of the United States. "While the fight is far from over, we're glad the court agreed that a President cannot ‘short-circuit’ Congress and unilaterally use an illegal executive order to obliterate the rights of millions of voters. Broadly, this executive order and the SAVE Act try to make it more difficult for American voters, particularly women voters, to participate in our elections — but the League hasn't and will not back down. The League of Women Voters will continue to fight to defend our democracy from those who seek to restrict it.”
“No voter should ever have to jump through unnecessary hoops to register to vote,” said Pinny Sheoran, president of the League of Women Voters of Arizona. “For the sake of Arizona voters, LWV of Arizona is glad that the federal court has temporarily blocked one of the most egregious provisions of this anti-voter executive order.”
The League of Women Voters of the US, League of Women Voters of Arizona, League of Women Voters Education Fund, OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates, Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, Hispanic Federation, and NAACP are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), ACLU of DC, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, the Legal Defense Fund, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC (Advancing Justice – AAJC) in the suit. On March 27, several of the above voting rights organizations sent a letter to the EAC urging them not to take action in response to key provisions in the executive order, as doing so would violate federal law.
A link to the original complaint is here.