A U.S. District Court judge has permanently blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order that required voters to prove their citizenship before registering to vote, declaring that the measure violates federal law and state election authority.
According to Reuters, the ruling from Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, D.C., prevents enforcement of the order that would have required voters to show passports or other citizenship documents before casting ballots. The judge’s decision marks a major victory for voting rights groups that argued the order would suppress voter participation and disenfranchise eligible citizens.
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Details of the Executive Order and Legal Challenge
Trump’s March 25 executive order directed federal agencies and election bodies to enforce stricter voter verification rules, including a mandate that all new voter registrants show documentation such as a passport or birth certificate to prove citizenship.
The order also required a non-partisan federal election body to modify the national voter registration form, adding a section demanding proof of citizenship. Additionally, it instructed federal officials to review the citizenship of individuals on public assistance programs before issuing voter registration forms.
However, multiple civil rights organizations and Democratic-aligned groups, including the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and the League of Women Voters Education Fund, filed lawsuits challenging the measure.
They argued that the order violated the National Voter Registration Act and that it would discourage lawful citizens from voting due to bureaucratic barriers.
Judge Rules the Order Unconstitutional
In her ruling, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly determined that President Trump “is not permitted to require voters to show passports or other documents as proof of citizenship before voting.”
The judge wrote that such measures illegally intrude upon state authority, as the Constitution grants states—not the president—the power to oversee elections.Kollar-Kotelly stated that these parts were illegal because states are given the power to oversee elections.
The ruling permanently blocks the citizenship proof requirement, which had already been temporarily halted by earlier court decisions.
However, the judge declined to block another section of the executive order—one that would prevent states from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day. That provision remains under separate review.