Federal Judge Blocks Key Parts of Trump Election Order on Proof of Citizenship

A federal judge in Boston permanently blocked most of President Donald Trump’s 2025 election executive order, ruling that the president cannot use executive power to impose voter registration and mail ballot rules assigned to states and Congress.

U.S. District Judge Denise Casper’s order bars the administration from enforcing major parts of the March 25 directive, including a requirement that people provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote through the federal form. The order also targeted states that count mail ballots arriving after Election Day and threatened some federal funds for states that did not follow the administration’s directives.

Casper’s ruling makes permanent an earlier injunction she issued in a challenge brought by Democratic state attorneys general from 19 states. The states claimed Trump had overstepped his authority by trying to change election rules through an executive order rather than through Congress.

The administration argued the lawsuit was premature because the rules had not yet been carried out. Casper rejected that argument, finding that states had already shown harm from preparing for changes to election systems, voter registration procedures, and federal compliance demands.

Casper’s ruling turned on who has legal authority to set voter registration and ballot counting rules. The Constitution gives states primary authority to run elections, while allowing Congress to regulate federal elections. The president enforces federal law, but the court found that role does not allow a president to add new voting requirements that Congress has not approved.

The proof of citizenship requirement was central to that dispute. Under the National Voter Registration Act, Congress created a standard mail registration form for federal elections. Applicants already must attest under penalty of law that they are U.S. citizens, and the states argued that adding a document requirement through an executive order would change the federal registration system without congressional approval.

State officials also claimed the requirement would burden eligible voters who do not have easy access to qualifying records or whose documents do not match a current name or address. The administration described the rule as an election integrity measure and said proof of citizenship, voter list checks, and Election Day ballot deadlines were needed safeguards.

A separate part of Trump’s order directed the attorney general to take action against states that count mail ballots received after Election Day, even when they are postmarked by then. Casper’s injunction also blocks provisions tied to late-arriving mail ballots and funding penalties linked to state compliance.

Federal law already bars noncitizens from registering or voting in federal elections, and false citizenship statements on registration forms can carry criminal penalties. The challenged order sought to add a document requirement to the existing attestation system, which the states argued could not be done by presidential directive.

Wednesday’s decision follows a separate ruling in Washington, D.C., where another federal judge blocked officials from adding a proof of citizenship requirement to the federal voter registration form. That court also later restricted a similar requirement for military voters seeking to register or request ballots.

Trump has continued pressing Congress to enact a proof-of-citizenship requirement through the SAVE America Act. The legislation has passed the House but has stalled in the Senate.

A separate voting case remains before the U.S. Supreme Court, where the justices are expected to decide whether federal law requires mail ballots to arrive by Election Day. The decision could affect states that count ballots received after Election Day when they are postmarked by the deadline.