A federal judge has ruled the Trump administration cannot enforce an executive order requiring documented proof of US citizenship on federal voter registration forms, a decision the administration defends as a lawful effort to protect election integrity.
US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, DC, on Friday found the requirement unconstitutional, writing that the president “lacks the authority to direct such changes.”
“The first question presented in these consolidated cases is whether the president, acting unilaterally, may direct changes to federal election procedures,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote in her opinion.
“Because our Constitution assigns responsibility for election regulation to the States and to Congress, this Court holds that the President lacks the authority to direct such changes.”
However, a spokesperson for the White House told Fox News Digital Trump acted within his legal powers.
“President Trump has exercised his lawful authority to ensure only American citizens are casting ballots in American elections,” White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital in an email. “This is so commonsense that only the Democrat Party would file a lawsuit against it.
“We expect to be vindicated by a higher court.”
The judge sided with the plaintiffs — including the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the Democratic National Committee and the League of Women Voters Education Fund — arguing the Constitution “assigns no direct role to the president in either domain.”
The ruling says the US Election Assistance Commission is permanently blocked from adding the requirement to the federal voter form, according to The Associated Press.Federal judge blocks Trump order requiring citizenship proof on federal voter registration forms: --->READ MORE HERE
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| Tom Arthur/ Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 2.0 |
A federal judge on Friday ruled President Donald Trump’s executive order requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote is unconstitutional, making it even more necessary that Republicans in Congress take advantage of Trump’s momentum and pass the SAVE Act.
Trump signed the executive order in March, directing that within 30 days, “the Election Assistance Commission shall take appropriate action to require, in its national mail voter registration form issued under 52 U.S.C. 20508 … documentary proof of United States citizenship.”
The order also required state and local officials to record the type of documentation used and the date such documentation was issued. Some examples of documentary proof of citizenship include a United States passport, a REAL ID that indicates citizenship, a military identification card, and a valid federal or state government-issued identification.
But District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled the order is unconstitutional, arguing Trump “lacks the authority to direct such changes.”
“Because our Constitution assigns responsibility for election regulation to the states and to Congress, this Court holds that the President lacks the authority to direct such changes.”
Kollar-Kotelly has previously ruled against Trump as Democrats use lawfare to block, stall, or overturn Trump’s mandate. This ruling should also serve as a reminder: while Democrats are laser-focused on obstructing Trump’s agenda in court, Republicans in Congress have the power to act now. --->READ MORE HERE
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