The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and two prominent U.S. lawmakers filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump last week over a recent executive order aimed at enforcing laws against illegal immigrant voting and regulations regarding election dates.
“The Executive Order seeks to impose radical changes on how Americans register to vote, cast a ballot, and participate in our democracy—all of which threaten to disenfranchise lawful voters and none of which is legal,” says the lawsuit, filed by Democratic Party attorney Marc Elias in federal court in Washington, The Epoch Times reported.
Trump’s March 25 order includes several key provisions, many of which focus on enforcing laws that prohibit noncitizens from registering to vote or casting ballots in federal elections. The order instructs the independent Election Assistance Commission to require proof of U.S. citizenship on its mail-in voter registration form.
It also directs federal officials to collaborate with the Department of Government Efficiency to review voter rolls and identify any noncitizens who may already be registered. Additionally, the order calls on the U.S. attorney general to prosecute individuals who have unlawfully registered or voted.
Another section of the order targets the practice in some states of counting mailed ballots that arrive after Election Day—a move the order claims violates federal law.
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A separate provision directs the Election Assistance Commission to withhold federal funding from states that fail to comply with laws governing election dates, noncitizen voting, and voter registration.
The U.S. Constitution’s Elections Clause grants states the authority to set the time, place, and manner of elections, though it also gives Congress the power to override those rules.
“Outside of the Elections Clause, other provisions in the Constitution place certain requirements and limitations on the regulation of elections—but none allows the President to override the will of the States or Congress in this space,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit argues that the Election Assistance Commission is an independent agency beyond the president’s direct control, despite the fact that commissioners are appointed by the president. It also contends that federal law allows individuals registering to vote in federal elections to affirm their citizenship with a signature, rather than requiring documentation like a passport.
Alongside the Democratic National Committee, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) are also listed as plaintiffs in the case, the outlet reported.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to rule that the order violates both the Constitution and federal law and to block federal officials, including the attorney general, from enforcing it.
“The Democrats continue to show their disdain for the Constitution and it continues to show in their insane objections to the President’s commonsense executive actions to require proof of U.S. citizenship in an effort to protect the integrity of American elections,“ Harrison Fields, a White House spokesman, told The Epoch Times in a statement. ”The Trump administration is standing up for free, fair, and honest elections and asking this basic question is essential to our Constitutional Republic.”
Prior to the 2016 election, Elias played a key role in assembling a the so-called “Steele dossier” on Trump. He was also named in a separate order issued by Trump, which called on officials to take action against attorneys accused of violating laws or professional regulations.
Earlier on Monday, several organizations filed a separate lawsuit in the same court challenging the election order, raising many of the same legal concerns.
“The president’s executive order is an unlawful action that threatens to uproot our tried-and-tested election systems and silence potentially millions of Americans,“ Danielle Lang, senior director of voting rights at the Campaign Legal Center, which is representing the groups, said in a statement.
“It is simply not within the president’s authority to set election rules by executive decree, especially when they would restrict access to voting in this way,” she added.
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