Washington, DC — A coalition of voting rights organizations filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia to challenge President Trump’s unlawful executive order on voting. The order attempts to seize the power to set voter registration rules from Congress and the states, and doing so in a way that would violate federal law and the Constitution if carried out by the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Key provisions of Trump’s order could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters, particularly voters of color, women voters, naturalized citizens, voters with disabilities, voters with low incomes, and first-time voters.
The Constitution specifies that Congress and the states can set the rules for our elections, not the President. 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.
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). The groups are challenging the order’s usurpation of powers, including its directive for the US Election Assistance Commission to change the federal voter registration form to require burdensome submission of documents to prove citizenship, which many Americans do not have or cannot readily acquire. Under existing law, registrants already have to swear to their citizenship under penalty of perjury, and there is no evidence that non-citizens are registering to vote at significant rates.
“This executive order is a dangerous and unprecedented abuse of power — one that threatens to make it more difficult for American voters, particularly women voters, to participate in our elections,” said Celina Stewart, chief executive officer of the League of Women Voters of the United States. “In the League of Women Voters’ entire 105-year history, we have not witnessed an administration so determined to attack the voting rights of American women this aggressively — but we won’t back down. The League of Women Voters will fight to defend our democracy and to ensure this order is struck down in court.”
“This executive order is not only extreme, but is also blatantly unlawful,” said Marcia Johnson, chief counsel for the League of the Women Voters of the United States. “It is an egregious assault on voting rights and the Constitution, and we cannot allow any President to use an illegal executive order to obliterate the rights of millions of voters. The League was founded on the fight for a woman’s right to vote, and we will continue to fight to ensure we protect and maintain this fundamental right for all.”
“This executive order is designed to suppress voters, full stop,” said Pinny Sheoran, president of the League of Women Voters of Arizona. “More than 1.5 million Arizona women change their last names after marriage, and this executive order seeks to make it harder for them to register to vote. LWV Arizona will not stand for that. Arizonans should not have to jump through unnecessary hoops to make their voices heard in our elections.”
The coalition also released the following joint statement about the lawsuit, League of Women Voters et. al. v. Trump et. al.:
“The president has no constitutional or statutory authority to unilaterally dictate how elections are run. This executive order is a blatant violation of the separation of powers. Election rules are decided by Congress and the states, and any attempt by the executive branch to override their power violates the Constitution. This order, based on a persistent false and racialized narrative, could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters. It mirrors the SAVE Act, which would add unnecessary barriers to voter registration and silence the voices of American citizens. These unlawful attacks on voting rights are part of a broader effort to undermine our democracy. We have filed suit to stop this executive order and to keep it from interfering with eligible voters’ participation in our elections.”
A link to the complaint is here.