WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 Democratic officials in 19 states filed a lawsuit Thursday against President Donald Trump's attempt to reshape elections across the U.S., calling it an unconstitutional invasion of states' clear authority to run their own elections.
The lawsuit is the fourth against the issued just a week ago. It seeks to block of it, including new requirements that people provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote and a demand that all mail ballots be received by Election Day.
鈥淭he President has no power to do any of this,鈥 the state attorneys general wrote in court documents. 鈥淭he Elections EO is unconstitutional, antidemocratic, and un-American.鈥
Trump's order said the U.S. has failed 鈥渢o enforce basic and necessary election protection." Election officials have said recent elections have been among the most secure in U.S. history. There has been no indication of any widespread fraud, including when to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.
The is the culmination of Trump鈥檚 about how U.S. elections are run. After his first win in 2016, Trump his popular vote total would have been much higher if not for 鈥渕illions of people who voted illegally.鈥 In 2020, Trump blamed a 鈥渞igged鈥 election for his loss and widespread voter fraud and manipulation of voting machines.
Trump has argued his order secures the vote against illegal voting by noncitizens, though multiple studies and investigations have shown that it's rare.
It has received praise from the top election officials in some Republican states who say it could inhibit instances of voter fraud and will give them access to federal data to better maintain their voter rolls.
The order also requires states to exclude any mail-in or absentee ballots received after Election Day, and puts states' federal funding at risk if election officials don鈥檛 comply. Some states count ballots as long as they are postmarked by Election Day or allow voters to correct minor errors on their ballots.
Forcing states to change, the suit says, would violate the broad authority the Constitution gives states to set their own election rules. It says they decide the 鈥渢imes, places and manner鈥 of how elections are run.
Congress has the power to 鈥渕ake or alter鈥 election regulations, at least for federal office, but the any presidential authority over election administration.
鈥淲e are a democracy 鈥 not a monarchy 鈥 and this executive order is an authoritarian power grab,鈥 said New York Attorney General Letitia James.
A request sent to the White House was not immediately returned.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts by the Democratic attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.
filed over the order argue it could disenfranchise voters because millions of eligible voting-age Americans do not have the proper documents readily available. People are already required to attest to being citizens, under penalty of perjury, in order to vote.
Under the order, documents acceptable to prove citizenship would be a U.S. passport, a REAL ID-compliant driver鈥檚 license that 鈥渋ndicates the applicant is a citizen," and a valid photo ID as long as it is presented with proof of citizenship.
Democrats argue that millions of Americans do not have easy access to their birth certificates, about half don鈥檛 have a U.S. passport, and married women would need multiple documents if they had changed their name. That was during recent town elections in New Hampshire, the first ones held under a new state law requiring proof of citizenship to register.
Not all REAL ID-compliant driver's licenses designate U.S. citizenship.
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Cassidy reported from Atlanta.
