"President Donald Trump's request to add a documentary proof of citizenship requirement to the federal voter registration form cannot be enforced, a federal judge ruled Friday. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, D.C., sided with Democratic and civil rights groups that sued the Trump administration over his executive order to overhaul U.S. elections. She ruled that the proof-of-citizenship directive is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers,"
"Because our Constitution assigns responsibility for election regulation to the States and to Congress, this Court holds that the President lacks the authority to direct such changes," Kollar-Kotelly wrote in her opinion. She further emphasized that on matters related to setting qualifications for voting and regulating federal election procedures "the Constitution assigns no direct role to the President in either domain."
"Kollar-Kotelly echoed comments she made when she granted a preliminary injunction over the issue. The ruling grants the plaintiffs a partial summary judgment that prohibits the proof-of-citizenship requirement from going into effect. It says the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which has been considering adding the requirement to the federal voter form, is permanently barred from taking action to do so."
A federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump's request to add documentary proof-of-citizenship to the federal voter registration form cannot be enforced. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly held that the proof-of-citizenship directive violates the separation of powers and that the President lacks authority to direct such changes to election regulation. The opinion emphasized that the Constitution assigns responsibility for election qualifications and federal election procedures to the States and Congress, not the President. The ruling grants plaintiffs partial summary judgment and permanently bars the U.S. Election Assistance Commission from adding the requirement. The lawsuit by the DNC and civil rights groups continues, including challenges to mailed-ballot receipt rules, and other lawsuits against the executive order are ongoing.
Read at ABC7 Los Angeles
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