A federal judge on Wednesday permanently barred President Donald Trump’s administration from implementing most of his first executive order on elections, part of which sought to require people to show documentary proof of citizenship when they register to vote.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper in Boston effectively converts a preliminary injunction she issued a year ago, in which she temporarily blocked many of Trump’s efforts to overhaul elections, into a permanent ban.

Casper rejected the administration’s argument that the lawsuit to block the changes brought by Democratic state attorneys general was premature because the rules had yet to be implemented. Instead, she agreed that the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to regulate elections, and that Trump’s requirements violated the separation of powers.

  • bklyn@piefed.social
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    11 days ago

    This bill is really about raising the bar of requirements for what is considered “acceptable proof of citizenship” to documents that most citizens don’t typically have and can’t easily obtain (especially poorer citizens), a large group that typically votes Democratic. By disenfranchising such a large group of Democratic voters, this would heavily skew elections towards Republicans.