The Democratic National Committee (DNC), aligned groups and party leaders filed a lawsuit on Monday over President Trump's March executive order, which would overhaul elections.
Trump's order would require states to obtain proof of citizenship from individuals when they register to vote, strike late-arriving absentee or mail-in ballots from the total tally in federal elections and grant the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, access to the country’s voter rolls.
“Donald Trump and DOGE are doing this as an attempt to rationalize their repeatedly debunked conspiracy theories and set the groundwork to throw out legal votes and ignore election outcomes they do not like,” the Democratic groups and leaders said in a statement.
“It's anti-American and Democrats are using every tool at our disposal – including taking Trump to court – to stop this illegal overreach that undermines our democracy," they added.
The Democratic Governors Association, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Senate Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) joined the DNC in the lawsuit.
Multiple lawsuits have been filed over Trump's order.
Advocacy groups sued over the order on Monday, declaring it “unconstitutional,”
“The Order is an attack on the constitutionally mandated checks and balances that keep American elections free and fair,” the lawsuit, filed by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Secure Families Initiative and the Arizona Students’ Association, states.
“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 U.S. citizens to exercise their fundamental right to vote.”
Another lawsuit filed by voting rights groups hit the court docket Tuesday morning.
"This executive order is a blatant violation of the separation of powers. Election rules are decided by Congress and the states, and any attempt by the executive branch to override their power violates the Constitution," the groups, including the National League of Women Voters, League of Women Voters of Arizona, League of Women Voters Education Fund, OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates, Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, Hispanic Federation and the NAACP, wrote in a joint statement.
"This order, based on a persistent false and racialized narrative, could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters. It mirrors the SAVE Act, which would add unnecessary barriers to voter registration and silence the voices of American citizens."
Despite the onset of lawsuits, the White House says Trump's order will preserve "free" and "fair" elections through heightened standards.
“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 U.S. citizenship in an effort to protect the integrity of American elections,” White House principal deputy press secretary ...
