Trump anti-voting order buried in lawsuits as fourth challenge rolls in

A coalition of Democratic-led states has filed a lawsuit that aims to block President Donald Trump’s newest executive order attacking mail-in voting. 

Announced Friday, the suit represents the fourth legal challenge to the order, which Trump signed during a public press conference three days earlier.

In the suit, 23 Democratic attorneys general argued that the order violates the powers the Constitution grants states to oversee elections.

“Neither the Constitution nor any act of Congress confers upon the President the authority to mandate sweeping changes to States’ electoral systems or procedures,” the complaint stated.

Among the plaintiffs is New York Attorney General Letitia James, a prominent Trump foe.

“I’m suing to block the Trump administration’s illegal executive order that attacks mail-in voting, threatens to upend our elections, and sows distrust in our electoral system,” James wrote Friday on social media.

National Democratic organizations also filed suit* this week, asking a judge to stop the enforcement of the order.

Additionally, two civil rights groups filed separate lawsuits on Thursday, bringing the total to four.

Those groups argue the executive order violates federal voting, privacy and administrative laws. They take particular issue with its demand that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) create lists of “approved mail voters” that will determine who can receive an absentee ballot.

In their suit, the 23 attorneys general called this a “shocking and unprecedented power grab,” noting that each state has its own procedures for absentee voting. 

In addition to the demands on USPS, the executive order also directs the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to create proof of citizenship lists in every state.

After signing the order, Trump said he wanted to stop Democrats from using mail-in voting to cheat in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections.

“The cheating on mail-in voting is legendary,” he claimed.

In fact, illegal voting is extremely rare.

This is not Trump’s attempt to use an executive order to restrict voting access. Last year, the president issued a different order targeting voting. It also faced multiple lawsuits.

In January, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly blocked key parts of the order.

The U.S. Constitution “does not allow the President to impose unilateral changes to federal election procedures,” she wrote in her ruling.

In bad news for Trump, Kollar-Kotelly has been assigned to hear the lawsuit filed by national Democratic groups against the president’s latest anti-voting order.

*Democratic plaintiffs in this case are represented by the Elias Law Group (ELG). ELG Chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.