On March 25, 2025, the president issued an executive order titled Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections. The executive order, among other things, directs the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), an independent agency, to amend the federal voter registration form to include a requirement for “documentary proof of United States citizenship.” It also directs the commission to withhold funding from states that do not include a documentary proof-of-citizenship requirement as set forth in the order or that do not reject mail ballots received after Election Day, even if timely under state law. And it directs the commission to amend the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines to prohibit the use of certain voting systems and rescind all previous certifications of state systems. These directives are unlawful, as they violate federal and constitutional law.
On April 1, 2025, the Brennan Center, American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of D.C., Asian Americans Advancing Justice, LatinoJustice, and Legal Defense Fund filed a federal lawsuit, League of Women Voters v. Trump, challenging the executive order in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against President Trump and the EAC. The suit was filed on behalf of the League of Women Voters of the United States, the League of Women Voters of Arizona, League of Women Voters Education Fund, Hispanic Federation, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, and OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates.
The lawsuit challenges the executive order’s directive that the EAC require documents proving citizenship to register using the federal form as an overreach of presidential power. The plaintiffs allege that the directive is a violation of the separation of powers doctrine. The president cannot set election laws; only Congress and the states have such authority. The plaintiffs also allege that the order is illegal because the president does not have the authority to mandate the EAC to implement a requirement for eligible American citizens to show a passport or other citizenship document in order to register to vote. This is because the EAC is an independent agency over which the president has no authority, and because such a show-your-papers requirement would violate the National Voter Registration Act.
On April 3, 2025, the district court consolidated the League Plaintiffs’ action with two other cases challenging the Executive Order.
On April 7, 2025, the League Plaintiffs filed a motion for preliminary injunction, with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Secure Families Initiative, and Arizona Students’ Association (plaintiffs in one of the consolidated cases). The League and LULAC Plaintiffs asked that the court stop the EAC, its commissioners, and its executive director from implementing the Executive Order’s directive to amend the federal form to require documentary proof of citizenship.
Documents
- Complaint (April 1, 2025)
- Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction (April 7, 2025)
- Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction (April 7, 2025)
