Attorney General Bonta Co-Leads Lawsuit Challenging President Trump’s Executive Order Restricting Mail Voting, Exerting Federal Control over Elections

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta today co-led a coalition of 23 attorneys general and the Governor of Pennsylvania in announcing a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's recent executive order, which unlawfully attempts to interfere with States' constitutional authority to administer elections by restricting voter eligibility and mail voting to lists of voters pre-authorized by the federal government. The power to regulate elections belongs primarily to the States - the President has no constitutional authority to make or alter laws governing federal elections. In a lawsuit to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the coalition asserts that Executive Order No. 14399, entitled Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections, is unconstitutional and ultra vires. Accordingly, the coalition asks the court to declare specified provisions of the executive order unlawful and void. If not enjoined, the coalition argues that the States will suffer significant, imminent, and irreparable injuries. Voters of all parties, in all states, and of every demographic utilize mail voting - including the President himself.

"Once again, President Trump is trying to rewrite the rules of our elections. But he lacks the authority to do so - full stop," said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. "The U.S. Constitution clearly gives States the primary authority over elections and gives zero authority to the President. This latest executive order is just another unlawful attempt to restrict voting, fueled by his fear of losing the upcoming midterm elections and based on wholly unfounded allegations of voter fraud."

"Trump is lighting democracy on fire with every harmful, and hateful action he pursues. California will not sit idle while he tries to limit which American citizens can participate in our democracy," said California Governor Gavin Newsom. "No one is above the U.S. Constitution - see you in court, Mr. President."

"What we are not going to do today is sit idly by while a bully steamrolls over our democracy. The people of California and our nation grasp the magnitude of the threat to our constitutional rights and together, we will not let them slip away," said California Secretary of State, Dr. Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D. "We will fight tooth and nail to defend our right to vote and the democratic principles our country must uphold."

The executive order at issue, among other things, purports to:

• Direct the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to develop lists of eligible voters pre-authorized by the federal government as eligible to vote, and threatens state and local elections officials with criminal prosecution for mailing ballots to voters deemed ineligible.
• Direct the U.S. Postal Service, an independent federal agency, to develop separate lists of voters pre-authorized as "enrolled" for mail-in and absentee ballots, and to transmit return mail and absentee ballots only from those on the list.
• Not only threaten elections officials and others with criminal prosecution, but also threaten States with the loss of federal funding for any "noncompliance with Federal law," laying bare a scheme to coerce States into implementing the President's new mail voting program.
• Lengthen the existing period for elections officials to preserve elections records to facilitate threatened prosecutions, contradicting existing requirements in state and federal law.

The attorneys general argue that the executive order would require States to upend their existing election administration procedures for upcoming elections and conduct statewide voter education at a dangerously quick pace - in some cases, within weeks of primary elections and mere months before the beginning of vote-by-mail for the general election. The coalition underscores that such drastic and rapid changes will undoubtedly create confusion, chaos, and distrust in state election systems, all while threatening to disenfranchise eligible voters.

President Trump's first elections-related executive order, Executive Order No. 14248, sought to impose sweeping voting restrictions across the country and prompted a lawsuit last year co-led by Attorney General Bonta and a coalition of 19 attorneys general. The coalition both secured a preliminary injunction in that case, which remains in effect, and defeated President Trump's attempt to dismiss the lawsuit. Two other courts have preliminarily or permanently enjoined key provisions of that order. The Trump Administration has also demanded complete, unredacted voter registration lists from every State, taking legal action against States that refuse to cooperate. On behalf of Secretary of State Weber, Attorney General Bonta secured the dismissal, without leave to amend, of the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit that sought California voters' sensitive and private information, including social security and driver's license numbers, partisan affiliation, home addresses and voting history.

Attorney General Bonta is co-leading this lawsuit along with Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, and Washington Attorney General Nick Brown. They are joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

A copy of the lawsuit will be available here when it is filed.