US Judge Strikes Down Trump Order Requiring Voters to Prove Citizenship

A federal judge permanently blocked part of an executive order issued by Republican US President Donald Trump, ruling that the president cannot compel voters to show passports or similar documents as proof of citizenship before casting their ballots.

 

Several lawsuits had challenged the president’s March 25 executive order -- a sweeping measure aimed at overhauling federal elections -- and courts had already temporarily blocked it from taking effect. US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, D.C., became the first to issue a final ruling against the order.

 

Kollar-Kotelly permanently struck down the provision requiring proof of US citizenship to register to vote. She had previously declined to block the section that would prevent states from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day.

 

The ruling followed lawsuits filed by groups including the Democratic National Committee, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and the League of Women Voters Education Fund.

 

The American Civil Liberties Union, representing the League of Women Voters in the case, welcomed the ruling, saying that Americans without up-to-date passports should not be forced to purchase new documents in order to exercise their voting rights.

 

“While we celebrate this victory, we remain vigilant and will keep fighting to ensure every eligible voter can make their voice heard without interference or intimidation,” said Sophia Lin Lakin of the ACLU. “No president can sidestep the Constitution to make it harder to vote.”

 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

Trump’s order had called on a non-partisan federal election body to amend a national voter registration form to require documentation such as a passport proving citizenship. Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the measure was unlawful because the US Constitution grants states -- not the president -- the authority to oversee elections.

 

Trump has long questioned the integrity of the US electoral system and continues to falsely claim that his 2020 loss to Democratic President Joe Biden was due to widespread fraud. He and his Republican allies have also made baseless allegations of large-scale voting by non-citizens, an offence that is both illegal and exceedingly rare.

 

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