19 states challenge Trump election order; 4th lawsuit filed in a week

After US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to overhaul the country's election on March 25, Democrats are now challenging it in as many as 19 states, which filed a lawsuit against the executive order on Friday (IST).

 

According to an AP report, Democratic leaders have termed it an "unconstitutional invasion of states' clear authority to run their elections".

 

The executive order, which was signed just a week ago, included stricter regulations and required documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in elections.

 

The lawsuit filed today (IST) is the fourth one against the order, which seeks to block key aspects, including required documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in elections, along with the demand that all mail ballots be received by Election Day.

 

 

Lawsuit against Trump's order

 

Calling the Election executive order "unconstitutional, antidemocratic, and un-American," the state attorneys general informed the court that the president did not have any power to do this.

 

According to an NPR report, the lawsuit argues that the executive order "sows confusion and sets the stage for chaos," further adding that the states will be required to divert their staff and resources to implement new training, testing, voter education, and coordination.

 

The suit has been filed at a federal district court in Massachusetts and the states that have filed the lawsuits include: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

 

The three previously filed lawsuits have been assigned to the US District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, DC, who noted that all three lawsuits will be clubbed together.

 

Trump calls out the election system in the US

 

Calling out the election system in the US, the president, while signing the order, claimed that it fails to implement "basic and necessary election protections."  The order signed was consistent with Trump's dismissal of the election process. After winning in 2016 for the first time, he claimed that his popular vote total would have been much higher if many had not voted illegally.

 

In 2020, Trump blamed his loss to former President Joe Biden on a rigged election and claimed widespread voter fraud.

 

His claim, however, has been refuted by the election officials, who noted that the recent elections have been the most secure ones in US history. The officials also denied the indications of widespread fraud in 2020, when Trump lost to Joe Biden.

 

(with inputs from AP)