Read: Trump admin sued by Democrats, nonprofits over elections order
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President Trump at the White House on Monday. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The Trump administration is being sued over its efforts to make sweeping changes to federal elections that would include a proof of citizenship requirement, with Democratic and advocacy groups filing two separate lawsuits on Monday.
The big picture: Both the suit from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the DNC and other Democratic groups, and the one from several nonprofits, argue that President Trump's executive order — which also seeks to prevent states from counting mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day — is unconstitutional.
Driving the news: Trump said last week after signing the order that's called "Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American elections" he believes it's "the farthest-reaching executive action taken in the history" of the U.S. to secure elections.
- But the federal lawsuits that attempt to block the action, which were filed in the District Court in D.C., both say Trump lacks the authority to take such action.
Zoom in: The Democratic groups in their lawsuit that was filed by Elias Law Group called Trump's action an "unlawful effort to upturn the electoral playing field in his favor and against his political rivals."
- They argue in the suit that names the president and multiple government departments and officials that Trump supporters would also likely be impacted by the effort, which they said would "make it harder to register to vote, to cast a ballot, and to administer fair elections."
- The lawsuit alleges the order would force "numerous federal agencies to reveal sensitive personal information about millions of voters" to DOGE, the federal cost-cutting department that is Elon Musk is the face of. DOGE is among the defendants listed in the suit.
Meanwhile, the pro-voter coalition in their lawsuit, filed by the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and State Democracy Defenders Fund (SDDF), call Trump's order "an attack on the constitutionally mandated checks and balances" that keep U.S. elections free and fair.
- "Through this unconstitutional action, the President intrudes on the states' and Congress's authority to set election rules in an attempt to make it far more difficult for eligible U.S. citizens to exercise their fundamental right to vote," adds the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Secure Families Initiative (SFI) and the Arizona Students' Association suit.
What they're saying: "Donald Trump and DOGE are doing this as an attempt to rationalize their repeatedly debunked conspiracy theories and set the groundwork to throw out legal votes and ignore election outcomes they do not like," said Schumer, Jeffries and other Democratic leaders in a statement Monday.
- SFI executive director Sarah Streyder said in a statement Trump's order "would mean that the military family stationed on the other side of the world from home, who crossed every t and dotted every i — their military ID will no longer suffice, and due to mail delays outside of their control, their ballot will never count."
The other side: White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields in a media statement accused Democrats of showing "disdain for the Constitution."
- Fields added: "The Trump administration is standing up for free, fair, and honest elections and asking this basic question is essential to our Constitutional Republic."
- A Justice Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement Tuesday: "The Department of Justice has vigorously defended President Trump's executive actions, including the order to Preserve and Protect the Integrity of American Elections, and will continue to do so."
Read the Democrats' lawsuit, via DocumentCloud:
Read the lawsuit from LULAC, SFI and the Arizona Students' Association via DocumentCloud:
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional statements.
