A federal appeals court has upheld a decision stopping President Donald Trump’s executive order from creating a federal list of eligible voters. Nearly half of the U.S. states challenged the order, which also sought to limit the delivery of mail ballots exclusively to individuals on that list.
The ruling, delivered by judges of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, denied the Trump administration’s attempt to enforce the mail-in voting restrictions in 23 states. These states filed lawsuits ahead of the upcoming midterm elections in November.
In March, Trump issued an executive order instructing the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the commissioner of the Social Security Administration to develop a “state citizenship list” of eligible voters. The order also directed the U.S. Postal Service to send mail ballots solely to those included on that list.
Trump presented these measures as necessary to prevent non-U.S. citizens from voting. However, state election officials expressed concerns, arguing the changes were open to misuse and could lead to confusion. Democratic officials from 23 states and the District of Columbia challenged the order in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Boston. They contended that Trump’s order was unconstitutional, asserting that the authority to establish election rules rests with the states and Congress, not the president.
Judge Indira Talwani, nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, supported this view. She halted Trump’s order from being enforced for the November 3 elections, but her ruling only applied to the states involved in the lawsuit.
The Department of Justice has stated it is “reviewing all options” concerning its next legal steps. Officials remain hopeful that Trump’s executive order will be upheld eventually.
Report by Bynum from Savannah, Georgia.
Leave a Reply