 "US federal judge blocks Trump's bid to add proof-of-citizenship requirement to voter registration")
A US federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump's bid to add a documentary proof-of-citizenship requirement to federal voter registration. US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, DC, sided with the Democrats and civil rights group that sued the Trump administration over the executive order to overhaul voting during American elections.
Judge Kotelly ruled that the proof-of-citizenship directive was an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers. The ruling came as a major blow to the administration and its allies, who have argued that such a mandate is necessary to restore public confidence in the country’s voting system.
“Because our Constitution assigns responsibility for election regulation to the States and to Congress, this Court holds that the President lacks the authority to direct such changes,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote in her opinion. She further emphasised that when it comes to setting qualifications for voting and regulating federal election procedures, “the Constitution assigns no direct role to the President in either domain.”
Why it matters
Kollar-Kotelly was reiterating the comments she made when she granted a preliminary injunction over the issue, The Guardian reported. The Friday ruling now grants the plaintiffs a partial summary judgment. The judgment made it clear that the US Election Assistance Commission, which has been considering adding the requirement to the federal voter form, is permanently barred from taking action to do so.
The White House is yet to respond to the ruling. It is pertinent to note that the lawsuit was first brought to court by the Democratic National Committee.
Various civil rights groups continued to speak out to allow the judge to consider other challenges to Trump’s order. That includes a requirement that all mailed ballots be received, rather than just postmarked, by election day.
There are other lawsuits against Trump’s election executive order that are ongoing. On April 19, Democratic state attorneys general asked a separate federal court to reject Trump’s executive order. Washington and Oregon, where virtually all voting is done with mailed ballots, followed with their own lawsuit against the order.
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