Judge blocks Trump’s elections order in lawsuit by vote-by-mail states Oregon, Washington

A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from enforcing most of his executive order on elections against the vote-by-mail states Washington and Oregon, in the latest blow to Trump’s efforts to require documentary proof of citizenship to vote and to require that all ballots be received by Election Day.

US District Judge John H. Chun in Seattle found that those requirements exceeded the president’s authority, following similar rulings in a Massachusetts case brought by 19 states and in a Washington, DC, case by Democratic and civil rights groups.

“Today’s ruling is a huge victory for voters in Washington and Oregon, and for the rule of law,” Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said. “The court enforced the long-standing constitutional rule that only States and Congress can regulate elections, not the Election Denier-in-Chief.” The executive order, issued in March, included new requirements that people provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote and a demand that all mail ballots be received by Election Day. It also put states’ federal funding at risk if election officials didn’t comply.
Officials in Oregon and Washington, which accept ballots as long as they are postmarked by Election Day, said that could disenfranchise thousands of voters. During the 2024 general election, officials in Washington counted nearly 1,20,000 ballots that were received after election day but postmarked by it. Oregon officials received nearly 14,000 such ballots.