A federal judge in Massachusetts on Friday blocked part of President Donald Trump’s executive order that seeks to revamp how elections are run in the United States.
Judge Denise Casper issued a preliminary injunction halting requirements to show written proof of US citizenship when registering to vote in elections and Trump’s effort to prohibit states from counting mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day. The mail-in ballot ruling applies only in states that filed the lawsuit.
Non-citizens are already prohibited from voting in federal elections, but opponents of the executive order argue that requiring the documentary proof of citizenship will deter people from registering.
Casper, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, cited examples such as college students or immigrants who don’t have access to a birth certificate or passport.
The executive order, Casper wrote, “would burden the States with significant efforts and substantial costs to revamp voter registration procedures and would impede the registration of eligible voters, many of whom lack ready access to documentary evidence of citizenship (e.g., U.S. passport and other forms of identification that reflect citizenship).”
The lawsuit is one of several that challenge Trump’s election executive order. It was brought by California, Nevada, Massachusetts, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.
A federal judge in Washington, DC, previously ruled against the provision forcing registrants from providing documents proving their citizenship.
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