A federal judge on Wednesday permanently barred President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration from implementing most of his first on elections, part of which sought to require people to show documentary proof of citizenship when they register to vote.
The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper in Boston effectively converts a preliminary injunction she issued a year ago, in which she temporarily to overhaul elections, into a permanent ban.
Casper rejected the administration鈥檚 argument that the lawsuit to block the changes was premature because the rules had yet to be implemented. Instead, she agreed that the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to regulate elections, and that Trump鈥檚 requirements violated the separation of powers.
The Constitution “does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,鈥� she wrote.
Among other proposed changes, would have required people to provide when registering to vote, prevented mail ballots from being counted if they arrive after Election Day, even if they were postmarked by then, and punished states that failed to comply by withholding certain federal money.
In a statement, New York Attorney General said she was grateful the court had blocked Trump’s “unconstitutional attempt to seize control of our elections” and would continue to defend voting rights in this year’s midterm elections.
鈥淕enerations of Americans fought tirelessly for the right to vote, and we honor their legacy by protecting that right against anyone who tries to undermine it,” she said.
Requests for comment sent to the White House and Department of Justice were not immediately returned.
It was the latest in a string of rulings against the elections executive order Trump signed just months after taking office for his second term. He has since signed , seeking to create a national voter list and limit mail balloting. That directive also faces .
Last fall, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., overseeing to the first election executive order by civil rights and Democratic Party-aligned groups from taking steps to include the proof-of-citizenship requirement on the federal voter registration form. That judge later from requiring documentary proof of citizenship when military personnel register to vote or request ballots.
In an apparent nod to the difficulty of implementing a proof-of-citizen requirement by executive order, Trump is in the Republican-controlled Congress to create such a mandate. The SAVE America Act has passed the House but has stalled , leading Trump to advocate for eliminating the filibuster that is blocking the legislation.
On Wednesday, he the expected signing of a bipartisan housing bill, saying he won’t sign legislation until Congress passes his proof of citizenship requirement for voting.
The president and many of his Republican allies have been that is a major problem, when in fact . The federal voter registration form already requires people to attest that they are U.S. citizens, and violating that is as a felony that can lead to prison or .
In , the U.S. Supreme Court is due to issue an opinion soon on whether mail ballots must arrive by Election Day. That could immediately change the rules in 14 states that allow grace periods ranging from days to weeks if the ballots are postmarked by Election Day.
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