Democrat States Sue the Federal Government Over Citizen Voting Requirements
POLITICS
A coalition of Democratic-led states sues the Trump administration over new federal election rules requiring citizenship verification and limiting mail-in ballots, arguing the order violates state authority and voter-access protections.
A group of Democratic-led states filed a new federal lawsuit this week challenging the Trump administration’s latest executive order on election procedures, arguing that the directive unlawfully limits voter access and infringes on state authority to administer elections.
The suit—filed Monday, November 10, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia—was announced by a coalition of twenty states and the District of Columbia. They contend that President Donald Trump’s recent order requiring states to verify citizenship through federal databases and reject mail-in ballots received after Election Day violates both the National Voter Registration Act and the Constitution’s Elections Clause.
State attorneys general from California, New York, Illinois, Michigan, and Nevada led the filing, joined by others across the country. The complaint alleges that the new federal rules “upend decades of election administration practice” and “seek to federalize voting under the guise of uniform standards.”
The White House defended the policy as a safeguard to “ensure every legal vote counts and every illegal vote is stopped.” Administration officials say the order is designed to restore public confidence following years of litigation over election integrity. Critics, however, argue that the directive imposes new administrative hurdles likely to delay or block legitimate registrations and absentee ballots.
Election-law analysts say the case could become the most consequential federal election dispute since the 2000 Bush v. Gore ruling. The outcome will determine how much power the federal government—and the presidency itself—can exercise over state-run elections heading into the 2026 midterms.
A preliminary hearing is expected later this month.