A federal judge has dealt another setback to President Donald Trump’s election executive order by blocking provisions that would have tightened how citizenship is handled in federal voter registration, including for people enrolling through public assistance programs and for military personnel seeking ballots.
In the ruling issued Friday, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found the Constitution’s separation of powers is central to the case, limiting the president’s ability to make unilateral changes to federal election procedures. She wrote that “Put simply, our Constitution does not allow the President to impose unilateral changes to federal election procedures,” according to the court order.
Kollar-Kotelly permanently blocked two parts of the executive order aimed at proof-of-citizenship requirements. One provision directed that agencies would seek citizenship status before providing a federal voter registration form to individuals enrolling in public assistance programs, a requirement the judge said federal officials could not carry out.
The other blocked provision would have applied to military voting, prohibiting the Secretary of Defense from requiring documentary proof of citizenship when military personnel register to vote or request ballots. The court said that component also conflicted with limits on what the executive branch can do regarding election procedures.
Danielle Lang, a voting rights expert with the Campaign Legal Center, which represents plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said the ruling addresses what she described as a threat to voting rights for overseas military families. Lang said the decision “removes a very real threat to the freedom to vote for overseas military families and upholds the separation of powers,” according to the Associated Press.
The White House, through spokesperson Abigail Jackson, said Trump’s executive order was intended to ensure “election security.” Jackson said Friday’s ruling “would not be the last word,” adding that the administration “looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”
The dispute over citizenship proof has been a recurring theme in Trump and Republican messaging about election security, including during the 2024 campaign. The Associated Press said congressional Republicans have continued to push proposals that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, while noting that research, including among some Republican state officials, has found voting by noncitizens is rare.
Friday’s decision came amid several setbacks for the executive order, according to the Associated Press. In October, Kollar-Kotelly blocked the administration from adding a documentary proof of citizenship requirement to the federal voter registration form. The Associated Press also reported separate lawsuits by Democratic state attorneys general and by Oregon and Washington—states that rely heavily on mailed ballots—that have blocked various portions of Trump’s order.