Federal Judge Hears Challenge to Trump's Executive Order on Voter Lists and Mail Ballots

BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday heard arguments from voting rights groups and a coalition of two dozen states seeking to halt President Donald Trump's executive order that aims to create a federal voter list and restrict who can receive mail ballots. The plaintiffs, in two lawsuits filed in U.S.

District Court in Boston, argue that the order is unconstitutional because the power to set election rules lies with states and Congress, not the president. They also contend that the order imposes costly burdens on state election officials and spreads fear of prosecution.

“This is going to be a sea change in the way that some states administer their ballots,” said Michael Cohen, representing California, adding that “it will be difficult to overstate the disruption that this will cause.”

Trump's executive order, the second targeting elections during his second term, continues his focus on unsubstantiated claims of widespread voting by noncitizens. States already have detailed processes to maintain accurate voter rolls, and voting by noncitizens is rare and a felony punishable by deportation.

The American Civil Liberties Union, representing the League of Women Voters in one of the Boston cases, called the order “a dangerous attempt to disenfranchise eligible voters nationwide.” The group said it transforms “the U.S. Postal Service from a neutral mail carrier to an arbiter of who may cast a ballot by mail.”

The hearing comes less than a week after U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee in Washington, declined to halt the order, agreeing with the administration that it was too early to block it since it has yet to be implemented.

During oral arguments, Judge Indira Talwani expressed concerns about whether the federal system could be ready for the upcoming midterm elections and about risks to election workers who rely on state lists that differ from the federal one. She also raised doubts about the reliability of a federal list, noting that women who change their names after marriage or people who move between states might be missed.

“Isn’t there a reasonable fear and concern on behalf of voters that they will be precluded?” she asked.

Trump issued the order in March after a bill to overhaul voting stalled in Congress. The order would have the federal government create a list of eligible voters and direct the Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to those on the list.

Election officials argue it is ripe for abuse and could cause chaos, and the postal union has objected to mail carriers policing ballots. The Postal Service has published a proposed rule in the Federal Register, which would not apply to primary elections or overseas ballots.

The judge took the requests for motions to halt the order and motions to dismiss under advisement.