President Donald Trump's recent executive order to overhaul the U.S. election system is facing legal challenges. On Monday (March 31), the Democratic National Committee and several nonprofits filed lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing that the order is unconstitutional. The lawsuits claim that the order oversteps presidential authority by imposing new election rules, such as proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration and changes to mail-in voting deadlines.
The Campaign Legal Center and State Democracy Defenders Fund filed one of the lawsuits, asserting that the executive order threatens to undermine established election systems and disenfranchise voters. Danielle Lang, senior director of voting rights at the Campaign Legal Center, stated, "It is simply not within the president’s authority to set election rules by executive decree."
The executive order, signed last week, directs the Department of Justice to prosecute election crimes and requires the Department of Homeland Security to collaborate with the Department of Government Efficiency to review state voter registration lists. It also mandates the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to withhold federal funding from states that do not comply with uniform voting standards.
The lawsuits argue that these directives violate the Constitution's Elections Clause, which grants states the power to determine election procedures. The Democratic lawsuit highlights concerns over privacy violations and errors in matching federal data with voter rolls.