Mass. joins growing list of lawsuits against Trump's mail-in voting order
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Lawsuits are piling up against President Trump's executive order requiring the feds to create and oversee a "citizenship list" determining who can get an election ballot by mail.
Why it matters: The executive order threatens "bedrock principles of federalism and separation of powers," according to a 23-state lawsuit that Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell joined last week.
Catch up quick: Trump ordered the Department of Homeland Security to create a federal citizenship list and only allow the U.S. Postal Service to mail ballots to people on that list.
- The order would let states make changes to the list and still require citizens to register to vote in their state.
- The executive order is Trump's latest attempt to crack down on mail-in voting, after making several false claims of widespread election fraud involving non-citizens.
- "The cheating on mail-in voting is legendary," he said after signing the order last week, a claim officials in several states have disputed.
State of play: Washington, D.C., and 23 states filed the lawsuit on Friday, challenging the order.
- The Democratic National Committee and other Democratic groups filed suit on Wednesday, as did the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts and other voting rights groups.
What they're saying: "Though the President may wish he had unlimited power to restrict voting rights, the Constitution gives states — not the White House — the authority to oversee elections," Campbell said in a statement.
- Campbell's office said the order would disenfranchise eligible voters and create confusion, chaos and distrust by requiring states to rework their election procedures within weeks of primary elections and months of November elections.
The other side: "Only Democrat politicians and operatives would be upset about lawful efforts to secure American elections and ensure only eligible American citizens are casting ballots," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson wrote in a statement to Axios.
What we're watching: The lawsuits ask courts to prevent the Trump administration from enforcing the executive order.