A federal judge appointed by former President Obama has blocked President Donald J. Trump’s executive order requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: An Obama-appointed judge has permanently barred the Trump administration from implementing an executive order that required proof of citizenship to vote. 📰 DETAIL: The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper converts a preliminary injunction issued a year ago into a permanent ban on the order. Specifically, the ruling asserts that the U.S. Constitution allows Congress and individual states to manage elections, including whether or not proof of citizenship is required to register, but not the President. Judge Casper rejected the administration’s argument that a lawsuit attempting to block the executive order was premature as the order had not been implemented. The blocked executive order would have made it mandatory to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. The order would have also created a national voter list, prevented the counting of mail-in ballots that arrive after election day, and penalized non-compliant states by withholding federal funds. The ruling was issued on Wednesday from Boston, Massachusetts. 💬 KEY QUOTE: The Constitution “does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,” wrote U.S. District Court Judge Casper. 🎯 IMPACT: This ruling is a significant setback for President Trump’s efforts to bolster election integrity and ballot security. The decision may influence ongoing legal challenges to similar executive orders. In light of the President’s focus on getting the SAVE America Act approved by Congress, a measure that would mandate proof of U.S. citizenship in order to vote, it seems the President hopes to secure electoral reform through the legislative route, rather than purely via the executive. 👀 FLASHBACK: This is not the first time that Judge Casper has blocked the President’s election integrity measures. Judge Casper initially blocked the President’s March executive orders back in June 2025. “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,” Judge Casper contended at the time, although it is well known that non-citizens do vote in elections due to poor vetting. |
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