Top congressional Democrats filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against President Donald Trump over his executive order tightening controls on mail-in ballots, calling the move an attempt to “rig” elections.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries joined the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic Governors Association and the Democratic National Committee as plaintiffs in the suit.
“Donald Trump is desperately trying to rig our elections by making it harder to vote for seniors, Americans with disabilities, members of the military, rural communities and other working families who rely on vote-by-mail,” the Democratic leaders said in a joint statement. “This move is blatantly unconstitutional, and we will fight against it.”
Trump signed the order earlier this week after his legislative push for the SAVE America Act stalled in the Senate, blocked by unified Democratic opposition.
The order creates federal “citizenship lists” drawn from government databases and requires states to receive those lists before elections. It grants the U.S. Postal Service authority over mail-in voting logistics, including the power to refuse delivery of ballots sent to voters not on its approved list. The order also imposes new federal design and processing rules for mail-in ballot envelopes.
Democrats argue the order is unconstitutional on several grounds. They contend it overrides states’ authority over elections, violates the separation of powers, breaches federal privacy laws and risks disenfranchising millions of voters. The lawsuit claims Trump “has no such authority” to impose sweeping nationwide changes to election procedures by executive action.
Trump has publicly warned Republicans that failure to pass the SAVE Act could cost the GOP in upcoming midterm elections.
