Washington and Oregon have joined other states in filing a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s executive order to overhaul election rules in the U.S. The states argue that the president does not have the authority to dictate how elections are conducted, as it is up to the individual states to decide. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle, challenges new requirements such as providing documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote and demanding that all mail ballots be received by Election Day.
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs highlighted that the executive order could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters in the Pacific Northwest, where ballots are required to be postmarked by Election Day. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield condemned Trump’s order as an attempt to suppress votes and act like a king, dictating election rules to states.
The lawsuits against the executive order argue that it violates the Constitution, which gives states the authority to set rules for elections. The White House defended the proof-of-citizenship requirements as “common sense” and stated that the administration is standing up for free and fair elections.
The lawsuits come in the wake of Trump’s continued baseless claims of election fraud in the 2020 election, which have been repeatedly debunked. Critics of the president argue that he is trying to undermine faith in democracy by pushing for these election changes. The legal battle over the executive order is ongoing as states and voting groups challenge the administration’s attempted election overhaul.
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