Washington sues Trump over vote-by-mail restrictions
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Washington state is fighting President Trump's latest attempt to give the federal government more control over vote-by-mail elections.
Why it matters: Trump's March 31 executive order aims to bar the U.S. Postal Service from mailing federal election ballots to anyone not on a federally approved list — a shift state officials say would disenfranchise many Washington voters.
Driving the news: Washington Attorney General Nick Brown is co-leading a lawsuit challenging the president's order, which he called "patently unconstitutional."
- About two dozen states are parties in the lawsuit, which argues Trump's order violates the Constitution's separation of powers and unlawfully interferes with states' mail voting programs.
- "Mail-in voting is safe and legal in Washington," Brown said in a news release Friday, when the lawsuit was filed. "We will do everything we can to defend it."
All Washington counties have voted by mail since 2011.
Catch up quick: Trump's March 31 order directs the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to develop lists of citizens over 18 who are residents of each state and transmit those lists to state elections officials.
- The order directs the U.S. Postal Service to maintain a "mail-in and absentee participation list" and to not transmit ballots from people who aren't on the list.
What they're saying: State officials say the Constitution grants exclusive authority over elections to states and Congress, not the president.
- "The President's attempt to prevent registered voters from receiving ballots is unconstitutional and unfair to voters," Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said in a written statement last week.
- Hobbs said Washington regularly reviews its voter rolls and aims to "make voting easy by sending ballots to all registered voters."
- "When issues do occur, our system is designed to identify and resolve them swiftly," Hobbs said.
By the numbers: Washington state found 15 instances of noncitizens voting between 1982 and 2025 — 0.000006% of ballots cast, Hobbs said.
The other side: The White House dismissed the state's arguments.
- "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's next: The states are asking a federal judge to declare parts of Trump's executive order unconstitutional and to block them from taking effect.