Trump's Latest Attack on Voting Rights Triggers 20-State Lawsuit Led by Michigan

Federal Overreach Meets Constitutional Reality

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer isn't mincing words about Donald Trump's latest assault on voting rights. On April 3, her state joined over 20 others in federal court to challenge Trump's executive order mandating a national voter list and restricting mail-in ballots -- an order the lawsuit calls "a shocking and unprecedented power grab."

The March 31 executive order directs the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration to compile a list of eligible voters and share it with states. Here's the kicker: the U.S. Postal Service would be required to refuse transmitting mail-in ballots from anyone not on that federal list.

"Any attempt to federalize our elections or make it harder for Americans to cast their ballots is an attempt to take away Michiganders' constitutional right to vote," Whitmer said. "I won't let that happen."

A Pattern of Lies About Voter Fraud

Trump has spent years spreading false claims about widespread voter fraud, particularly regarding his 2020 loss to Joe Biden. He's repeatedly said he wants to eliminate mail-in voting -- despite voting by mail himself as recently as March in a Florida special election. The hypocrisy is breathtaking, but the threat is real.

The lawsuit filed in Massachusetts federal court argues Trump's order "violates bedrock principles of federalism and separation of powers." The Constitution's Article I elections clause explicitly gives states and Congress -- not the president -- authority over election administration. Trump is trying to bypass both.

Relying on Notoriously Flawed Data

The federal government would determine citizenship eligibility using the Department of Homeland Security's Systemic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system. There's just one problem: SAVE is "notoriously inaccurate," according to the lawsuit.

NPR reported in December about voter registrations wrongfully cancelled based on SAVE data. Now Trump wants to use that same flawed system to decide who gets to vote by mail nationwide. The lawsuit warns this will "erroneously disenfranchise eligible voters" while creating mass confusion and costing states valuable time and money.

The order also threatens election officials with criminal prosecution if they issue ballots to voters the federal government deems ineligible -- "laying bare a scheme to intimidate and coerce state officials," the lawsuit states.

Michigan's Mail-In Voting at Stake

The stakes are particularly high in Michigan. Voters approved a 2018 ballot measure allowing all residents to vote absentee by mail for any reason. The state constitution also guarantees the right to join a permanent absentee ballot list for automatic ballot delivery every election.

Over 1.8 million Michigan voters have signed up for that permanent list. In the 2024 presidential election, more than 2.2 million Michiganders voted by mail -- roughly 39% of all ballots cast. Trump won the state that year with 49.73% of the vote, meaning hundreds of thousands of his own voters used the mail-in system he now wants to dismantle.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson called the order "blatant federal overreach" and vowed to protect voters, clerks, and election workers. "The Constitution grants the power and responsibility to run elections to the states, not the president or the federal government," Benson said. "This Executive Order is illegal -- it was designed to create confusion and chaos."

Congressional Republicans Pile On

Trump's order arrives as Republicans in Congress 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.

The White House response to the lawsuits was predictable deflection. Spokesperson Abigail Jackson claimed "only Democrat politicians and operatives would be upset about lawful efforts to secure American elections." But the lawsuit isn't about security -- it's about constitutional authority and protecting eligible voters from disenfranchisement.

Civil rights groups, voting rights organizations, and the Democratic Party have also filed separate lawsuits challenging the order.

The Bigger Picture

This isn't just about mail-in ballots. It's about whether a president can unilaterally seize control of state election systems based on lies about voter fraud. It's about whether the Constitution's separation of powers means anything when it stands between Trump and what he wants.

"It seems the president is determined to rule, not to govern," Benson said, "so we must now take this fight to the courts."

Michigan and its fellow plaintiff states are betting that federal judges will agree: the Constitution doesn't give presidents the power to federalize elections, intimidate state officials, or disenfranchise voters based on flawed federal databases. The alternative is letting Trump rewrite the rules of American democracy by executive fiat.

The case will test whether our system of checks and balances can still check a president who refuses to be balanced.