A federal judge has permanently blocked the Trump administration from enforcing an executive order that would have required voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering and mandated that mail-in ballots be received by Election Day.
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In a ruling issued on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Denise Casper said the president does not have the constitutional authority to regulate elections, rejecting the administration’s claims that the measures were needed to address widespread voter fraud and other election-related misconduct.
Court Finds President Lacks Election Authority
Judge Casper wrote that while the Constitution grants the president executive powers and requires the faithful execution of laws, it does not give the White House specific authority over the administration of elections.
The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Boston by a coalition of state attorneys general in April of last year. The group sought to block Trump’s first executive order on voting, which aimed to require documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration and establish a nationwide Election Day deadline for mail-in ballots.
Judge Casper had already issued a preliminary injunction against the policy in June last year. Her latest 59-page ruling makes that block permanent.
Fraud Claims Rejected
The judge said the administration failed to provide evidence supporting its allegations of widespread election fraud, illegal voting, discrimination, or other systemic problems that the executive order claimed to address.
“There is no evidence in this record” of the widespread misconduct cited in the order, Casper wrote, adding that the measures could have prevented thousands of eligible voters from casting ballots.
She concluded that the policy risked disenfranchising lawful voters while lacking a factual basis to justify its restrictions.
Broader Legal Challenges Continue
The ruling is the latest setback for the administration’s efforts to reshape election procedures through executive action.
Several lawsuits are also challenging Trump’s second voting-related executive order, which sought to establish a national database of approved voters. Earlier this week, another federal judge blocked an attempt to use an immigration database to verify voter rolls.
Courts in multiple jurisdictions have additionally rejected efforts by the Department of Justice to obtain state voter-registration records.
The decision leaves election administration largely in the hands of states and Congress, while legal battles over the administration’s broader voting initiatives continue.
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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 25 June 2026
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