Trump sued over order to require proof of citizenship to vote

Erik Larson, Bloomberg News on Mar 31, 2025

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President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive order directing major changes to U.S. voter registration and how mail-in ballots are counted is being challenged in a lawsuit by human rights groups, which called the measures unconstitutional.

The suit filed Monday by groups that include the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, is the first of what is likely to be numerous legal fights over Trump’s executive order. The president said the changes, which could have a big impact on the next election, are necessary to prevent the kind of voter fraud that he falsely blames for his 2020 loss to Joe Biden.

LULAC alleges Trump is trampling on the authority of states to run elections by requiring for the first time that Americans provide proof of citizenship to register to vote. The group also claims the president can’t restrict the counting of mail-in ballots that are post-marked by Election Day, even if they arrive days later — a practice allowed by more than a dozen states.

“The order is an attack on the constitutionally mandated checks and balances that keep American elections free and fair,” lawyers for the group said in the lawsuit. “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.”

A spokesperson for the White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The suit is one of more than 175 that are challenging Trump’s policies and executive orders, many of which seek to stretch the limits of presidential power.

The other groups suing over the election order are the Secure Families Initiative and the Arizona Students’ Association, both of which describe themselves as nonpartisan organizations representing thousands of voters.

The case is League of United Latin American Citizens v. Executive Office of the President, 25-cv-946, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).

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