President
Trump’s directive, which for the first time would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and ban the counting of lawful mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, threatens to disenfranchise voters and upend an election system that has “stood the test of time,” the DNC said in its complaint.
The DNC suit, filed Monday night in Washington, was joined by Senate Minority Leader
The framers of the Constitution “foresaw that self-interested and self-aggrandizing leaders might seek to corrupt our democratic system of government to expand and preserve their own power,” the Democrats said. “They therefore created a decentralized system of elections based upon separated powers divided among the leaders elected by — and closest to — the people.”
Another complaint was filed Monday night by nonprofits representing Latinos, military families and college students. And early Tuesday, the League of Women Voters of the United States sued over the same issue. They all allege that Trump’s executive order violates the Constitution by usurping authority over elections that’s delegated to the states.
Read More:
The cases are among more than 175 now challenging an array of Trump’s directives, many of which seek to stretch the limits of presidential power. The US Supreme Court is likely to have the final say in many of the cases, particularly around immigration and efforts to shrink the federal workforce.
Trump has argued that his unprecedented election changes, which could have a big impact on the next election, are necessary to prevent the kind of voter fraud that he falsely blames for his 2020 loss to
“The Democrats continue to show their disdain for the Constitution and it continues to show in their insane objections to the President’s commonsense executive actions to require proof of US citizenship in an effort to protect the integrity of American elections,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in an emailed statement. “The Trump administration is standing up for free, fair, and honest elections and asking this basic question is essential to our constitutional republic.”
Several Democratic state attorneys general said last week that they’re exploring legal options to challenge the executive order, citing evidence that US elections are already secure and that voting by non-citizens is exceedingly rare.
Election Impact
Schumer and Jeffries said they sued because the changes called for under Trump’s executive order could impact their bids for reelection.
“These injuries are not mere idle concerns for a future day,” they said in their complaint. “They come on the cusp of at least three special congressional elections and two gubernatorial elections in the coming months.” And they said the campaign cycle for the 2026 midterm elections “is already well underway.”
The nonprofits that sued included the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, which represents hundreds of thousands of members in dozens of states, along with the Secure Families Initiative and the Arizona Students’ Association, both of which describe themselves as nonpartisan organizations representing thousands of voters.
They said Trump is trampling on the authority of states to run elections by demanding proof of citizenship, arguing in their complaint that “the President does not dictate election rules.” The nonprofits also claim the president can’t restrict the counting of mail-in ballots that are post-marked by Election Day, even if they arrive days later — a practice allowed by more than a dozen states.
“The order is an attack on the constitutionally mandated checks and balances that keep American elections free and fair,” the suit says. “Through this unconstitutional action, the president intrudes on the states’ and Congress’s authority to set election rules in an attempt to make it far more difficult for eligible US citizens to exercise their fundamental right to vote.”
Passports, Real ID
The executive order requires the Election Assistance Commission to amend its national mail voter registration form to require proof of citizenship for the first time, including a US passport and other IDs compliant with the Real ID Act of 2005.
According to the suit, only about half of all Americans have US passports, while most Read ID compliant identification documents “do not indicate that the holder is a citizen of the United States.” The plaintiffs say that only “enhanced” versions of the ID indicate citizenship, and they’re only used in five states.
The groups are also challenging a provision of the executive order that threatens to withhold federal financial assistance for administering elections from states that fail to follow Trump’s order.
The president also directed the US Attorney General to take “all necessary action” against states that count mail-in ballots that were lawfully cast by Election Day be received later. According to the suit, neither the president nor the attorney general have such authority.
The cases are Democratic National Committee v. Trump,
(Updates with lawsuit filed Tuesday by the League of Women Voters of the United States.)
To contact the reporter on this story:
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Steve Stroth, Erik Larson
© 2025 Bloomberg L.P. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
Learn more about Bloomberg Law or Log In to keep reading:
Learn About Bloomberg Law
AI-powered legal analytics, workflow tools and premium legal & business news.
Already a subscriber?
Log in to keep reading or access research tools.