Lawsuit asserts that voting restrictions are not authorized by U.S. Constitution or Congress
Attorney General Charity Clark today joined a coalition of 19 state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against President Trump, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, the federal Election Assistance Commission, and other Trump Administration officials over Executive Order No. 14248 (the Elections Executive Order). The coalition argues the Elections Executive Order is an unconstitutional, antidemocratic, and un-American attempt to impose sweeping voting restrictions across the country. Among other restrictions, the Elections Executive Order attempts to conscript State election officials in the President’s campaign to impose documentary proof of citizenship requirements on voters. It also seeks to upend common-sense, well-established State procedures for counting ballots — procedures that make it easier for Americans to exercise their right to vote.
“I am deeply troubled by this naked attempt to disenfranchise voters, particularly married women, low-income and elderly voters, and active-duty military members,” said Attorney General Clark. “Even viewed in the most charitable light, this is a solution looking for a problem, as illegal, non-citizen voter fraud is virtually non-existent. An American’s right to vote is sacred and must be protected.”
The President has no constitutional power to rewrite State election laws by decree, nor does the President have the authority to modify the rules Congress has created for elections. The coalition’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, explains that the power to regulate elections is reserved to the States and Congress, and that, therefore, the Elections Executive Order goes beyond the scope of presidential power and violates the separation of powers. The state attorneys general ask the court to block the unconstitutional and illegal provisions of the Elections Executive Order.
The challenged provisions include:
- Commanding the state-designated federal voter registration agency – in Vermont, the Secretary of State – to immediately begin “assess[ing] citizenship prior to providing a federal voter registration form to enrollees of public assistance programs.”
- Requiring military and overseas voters to submit documentary proof of citizenship and eligibility to vote in state elections.
- Threatening to withhold federal funding for purported noncompliance with the challenged provisions.
- Forcing the federal Election Assistance Commission (the Commission) to require documentary proof of citizenship on the federal mail registration form (the “Federal Form”), which is currently an optional template registration form that states can use.
- Forcing States to alter their ballot counting laws to exclude “absentee or mail-in ballots received after Election Day.”
“I’m glad to be working with our attorneys general to protect both states’ rights and the right to vote,” said Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas. “This order would threaten both. Not only is it an unconstitutional overreach of federal authority, it's an attempt to disenfranchise millions of voters and weaken our elections systems. Putting the burden of providing documentary proof of citizenship on individuals is akin to a poll tax – it would be a significant barrier for rural, elderly, and working-class Americans.”
In filing today’s lawsuit, Attorney General Clark joins the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.
A copy of the complaint can be found here.
Today’s lawsuit is the eighth case Attorney General Clark has brought against the Trump administration since President Trump took office in January. For more information on actions taken by the Attorney General on behalf of Vermonters, visit our website at ago.vermont.gov/ago-actions.
CONTACT: Amelia Vath, Outreach and Communications Coordinator, 802-828-3171