22 States Sue Trump Over Unconstitutional Power Grab to Control Voting
Wisconsin and 22 other states are suing Trump over his executive order demanding the feds create a national voter list and block mail-in ballots from anyone not on it. The lawsuit calls it a "shocking and unprecedented power grab" that violates the Constitution's guarantee that states run their own elections. Trump's order relies on a notoriously inaccurate citizenship database and threatens election officials with criminal prosecution if they don't comply.
Trump just tried to federalize American elections, and half the country is suing him for it.
Wisconsin joined 22 other states and the District of Columbia in filing a federal lawsuit against Trump's March 31 executive order that demands the U.S. Postal Service maintain a national list of eligible voters and refuse to deliver mail-in ballots to anyone not on that list. The suit, filed April 3 in Massachusetts federal court, accuses Trump of attempting an end-run around the Constitution's clear assignment of election administration to the states.
"In America, states run our elections, not the president, and the president cannot just wake up one morning and decide to rewrite our laws because he doesn't like them," Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said, calling Trump's order "bullshit."
The Constitutional Problem
The lawsuit argues Trump's order violates the elections clause of Article I of the Constitution, which gives states and Congress authority over federal elections. By directing the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration to create a federal voter eligibility list, Trump is attempting to bypass both state authority and congressional legislation.
"The President's latest attempt to interfere with the States' administration of their elections is as unprecedented as it is unconstitutional," the lawsuit states.
The order goes further by threatening "elections officials and any others involved in the administration of Federal elections" with criminal prosecution if they issue ballots to voters the federal government deems ineligible. The lawsuit calls this "a scheme to intimidate and coerce state officials into removing voters who do not appear on the federal government's lists, regardless of the accuracy or reliability of those lists."
A Database Built to Fail
The federal citizenship verification would rely on DHS's Systemic Alien Verification for Entitlements system, which the lawsuit describes as "notoriously inaccurate." NPR reported in December on voter registrations wrongfully cancelled based on SAVE data.
This matters because errors in the federal database would directly disenfranchise eligible American voters. The lawsuit argues the order will "erroneously disenfranchise eligible voters" while causing "mass confusion" and forcing states to spend time and money implementing an unconstitutional mandate.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul pointed out the obvious: "An executive order isn't a royal decree. The President can't unilaterally dictate how states should run elections."
Trump's Long War on Mail Voting
Trump has spent years spreading false claims about voter fraud, particularly regarding mail-in ballots. He attempted to overturn Wisconsin's 2020 election results through a lawsuit that the state Supreme Court rejected. He has repeatedly said he wants to eliminate mail-in voting entirely.
The irony? Trump himself votes by mail. He cast a mail-in ballot in a Florida special election just last month.
The executive order comes as congressional Republicans consider the SAVE America Act, which would require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote. That proof would need to match a person's birth certificate exactly, creating barriers for anyone who has legally changed their name, including married women.
What Happens Next
The lawsuit is one of several filed against Trump's order. Civil rights groups, voting rights organizations, and the Democratic Party have all filed separate challenges.
The White House dismissed the legal challenges as partisan. "Only Democrat politicians and operatives would be upset about lawful efforts to secure American elections," spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement.
But the lawsuit isn't about partisanship. It's about federalism and the separation of powers. Wisconsin already has "reliable and secure methods of absentee voting and voter eligibility verification that get accurate election results," according to Kaul's office.
The timing matters. Wisconsin voters head to the polls this week to select a new Supreme Court justice and vote on school referendums. In the fall, they'll choose new state government leaders, with Gov. Evers and Republican legislative leaders all declining to seek new terms.
Trump campaigned on "securing elections," but what he's actually doing is attempting to seize control of state election systems using an executive order and a flawed federal database. The lawsuit argues that's not election security. It's a constitutional violation that threatens to disenfranchise eligible voters while intimidating state officials with criminal prosecution.
Twenty-three states and counting have decided that's not how American democracy works.
Filed under:
Corruption & Grift
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