Lawsuit asserts that voting restrictions are not authorized by U.S. Constitution or Congress 

LANSING — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel today joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, the federal Election Assistance Commission, and other Trump Administration officials over Executive Order No. 14248 (the “Elections Executive Order”), an unconstitutional and antidemocratic attempt to impose sweeping voting restrictions across the country. Among other things, the Elections Executive Order attempts to conscript State election officials in the President’s efforts to impose overly burdensome proof-of-citizenship requirements when Americans register to vote. It also seeks to upend common-sense, well-established state procedures for counting ballots — procedures that ensure peoples’ voices are heard.  

The President has no constitutional power to rewrite state election laws by decree, nor does the President have the authority to change the laws passed by Congress for federal elections. The coalition’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, explains that the power to regulate elections is reserved to the States and Congress, and that therefore, the Elections Executive Order is ultra vires (beyond the scope of presidential power) and violates the separation of powers. Attorney General Nessel has asked the court to block the challenged provisions of the Elections Executive Order and declare them unconstitutional and void. 

“Not only is Donald Trump’s executive order unconstitutional and undemocratic, it unilaterally disrupts elections in our state, undermining the electoral process for millions of Michigan voters,” Nessel said. “The President has no authority to direct or control our state voting laws, many of which are enshrined in our state Constitution. The White House cannot be permitted to undermine the will and the rights of Michiganders, or keep us from legally casting our ballots under state election laws.” 

In filing today’s lawsuit, Attorney General Nessel is joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.