Latest news with #JudgeDeniseCasper
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
US judge blocks Trump administration from overhauling federal elections
A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from implementing parts of his sweeping executive order overhauling federal elections, including by requiring proof of US citizenship to register to vote and barring states from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day. US District Judge Denise Casper in Boston issued a preliminary injunction at the behest of 19 Democratic-led states who had argued that the Republican president lacked the authority to mandate changes to elections and the states' voting procedures. The lawsuit is one of several across the nation challenging Trump's March 25 executive order, which he signed after years of raising doubts about the integrity of the US electoral system and falsely claiming that his 2020 loss to Democratic former president Joe Biden resulted from widespread voter fraud. While parts of Trump's order had already been blocked in April by a judge in Washington, Casper's ruling went further as she concluded the states had established key pieces of the president's order were likely unlawful and unconstitutional. A voter casts a ballot at a ballot drop box in Seattle during early voting for the 2024 US presidential election. Photo: dpa 'The Constitution does not grant the president any specific powers over elections,' Casper, an appointee of Democratic president Barack Obama, wrote.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Judge Blocks Trump Voting Order Requiring Proof of Citizenship
A federal judge sided with a coalition of states on Friday that had sued to stop stringent new voting ID requirements that President Trump laid out in an executive order in March. The ruling went further than a previous court decision to block most of the key aspects of Mr. Trump's efforts to overhaul election law by executive order. In addition to indefinitely blocking provisions that would allow the federal government to require proof of citizenship for new voters, the judge's ruling on Friday blocks a directive for Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against states that continue counting ballots beyond Election Day. In her opinion, Judge Denise J. Casper of the Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts wrote that the states were likely to succeed in showing that the order exceeded President Trump's authority and risked disenfranchising some of the electorate. The ruling blocked the order from taking effect until the resolution of the case. 'The Constitution does not grant the president any specific powers over elections,' Judge Casper, an Obama appointee, wrote. In April, another judge in Washington, D.C., delivered a similar ruling that found much of the executive order likely unconstitutional. But that order, issued by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, stopped short of blocking the provision that sought to force an Election Day deadline on states for counting mail-in ballots. Thirteen states currently allow counting of mail-in ballots beyond Election Day if they were sent on time, and since the case before Judge Casper was brought by a coalition of 19 states that included the 13 'ballot recipient states,' she found they had standing to challenge that provision. Her order also blocked a provision that would withhold federal funding from states that failed to comply with the deadline. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
U.S. judge sides with Democrats, blocks Trump's attempt to overhaul federal elections
A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to overhaul elections in the U.S., siding with a group of Democratic state attorneys-general who challenged the effort as unconstitutional. The Republican President's March 25 executive order sought to compel officials to require documentary proof of citizenship for everyone registering to vote for federal elections, accept only mailed ballots received by Election Day and condition federal election grant funding on states adhering to the new ballot deadline. The attorneys-general said the directive 'usurps the States' constitutional power and seeks to amend election law by fiat.' The White House defended the order as 'standing up for free, fair and honest elections' and called proof of citizenship a 'commonsense' requirement. Donald Trump has been in power for 100 days. Here are 100 ways he has shaken the world Judge Denise J. Casper of the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts said in Friday's order that the states had a likelihood of success as to their legal challenges. 'The Constitution does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,' Casper wrote. Casper also noted that, when it comes to citizenship, 'there is no dispute (nor could there be) that U.S. citizenship is required to vote in federal elections and the federal voter registration forms require attestation of citizenship.' Casper cited arguments made by the states that the requirements would 'burden the States with significant efforts and substantial costs' to update procedures. The ruling is the second legal setback for Trump's election order. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., previously blocked parts of the directive, including the proof-of-citizenship requirement for the federal voter registration form. The order is the culmination of Trump's longstanding complaints about elections. After his first win in 2016, Trump falsely claimed his popular vote total would have been much higher if not for 'millions of people who voted illegally.' Since 2020, Trump has made false claims of widespread voter fraud and manipulation of voting machines to explain his loss to Democrat Joe Biden. He has said his executive order secures elections against illegal voting by non-citizens, though multiple studies and investigations in the states have shown that it's rare and typically a mistake. Casting a ballot as a non-citizen is already against the law and can result in fines and deportation if convicted. The order also would require states to exclude any mail-in or absentee ballots received after Election Day and puts states' federal funding at risk if election officials don't comply. Currently, 18 states and Puerto Rico accept mailed ballots received after Election Day as long they are postmarked on or before that date, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Trump signs executive orders intended to accelerate regulatory approvals for nuclear reactors Oregon and Washington, which conduct their elections almost entirely by mail, filed a separate lawsuit over the ballot deadline, saying the executive order could disenfranchise voters in their states. When the lawsuit was filed, Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs noted that more than 300,000 ballots in the state arrived after Election Day in 2024. Trump's order has received praise from the top election officials in some Republican states who say it could inhibit instances of voter fraud and will give them access to federal data to better maintain their voter rolls. But many legal experts say the order exceeds Trump's power because the Constitution gives states the authority to set the 'times, places and manner' of elections, with Congress allowed to set rules for elections to federal office. As Friday's ruling states, the Constitution makes no provision for presidents to set the rules for elections. During a hearing earlier this month on the states' request for a preliminary injunction, lawyers for the states and lawyers for the administration argued over the implications of Trump's order, whether the changes could be made in time for next year's midterm elections and how much it would cost the states. Justice Department lawyer Bridget O'Hickey said during the hearing that the order seeks to provide a single set of rules for certain aspects of election operations rather than having a patchwork of state laws and that any harm to the states is speculation. O'Hickey also claimed that mailed ballots received after Election Day might somehow be manipulated, suggesting people could retrieve their ballots and alter their votes based on what they see in early results. But all ballots received after Election Day require a postmark showing they were sent on or before that date, and that any ballot with a postmark after Election Day would not count.
CNN
3 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Federal judge blocks Trump executive order that requires proof of US citizenship to vote and limits mail-in ballots
A federal judge in Massachusetts on Friday blocked part of President Donald Trump's executive order that seeks to revamp how elections are run in the United States. Judge Denise Casper issued a preliminary injunction halting requirements to show written proof of US citizenship when registering to vote in elections and Trump's effort to prohibit states from counting mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day. The mail-in ballot ruling applies only in states that filed the lawsuit. Non-citizens are already prohibited from voting in federal elections, but opponents of the executive order argue that requiring the documentary proof of citizenship will deter people from registering. Casper, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, cited examples such as college students or immigrants who don't have access to a birth certificate or passport. The executive order, Casper wrote, 'would burden the States with significant efforts and substantial costs to revamp voter registration procedures and would impede the registration of eligible voters, many of whom lack ready access to documentary evidence of citizenship (e.g., U.S. passport and other forms of identification that reflect citizenship).' The lawsuit is one of several that challenge Trump's election executive order. It was brought by California, Nevada, Massachusetts, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. A federal judge in Washington, DC, previously ruled against the provision forcing registrants from providing documents proving their citizenship. This story is breaking and will be updated.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
US judge blocks Trump administration from overhauling federal elections
BOSTON, June 13 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday blocked U.S. President Donald Trump's administration from implementing parts of his sweeping executive order overhauling federal elections, including by requiring voters to prove they are U.S. citizens and barring states from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day. U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston issued a preliminary injunction at the behest of 19 Democratic-led states who argued the president lacked the authority to mandate changes to federal elections and the states' voting procedures.
