Lawyers urge judge to block Trump order that would create eligible voter
list, limit mail ballots
[May 15, 2026]
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and NICHOLAS RICCARDI
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when he
issued an executive order to restrict voters’ ability to cast ballots by
mail, attorneys for Democrats and civil rights groups told a federal
judge on Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols didn’t rule from the bench on the
plaintiffs’ request for an order blocking officials from implementing
Trump’s March 31 order, his second related to elections since winning
his second term in the White House. The case is one of multiple lawsuits
filed to block the order on the grounds that only states and Congress,
and not the president, are given power under the Constitution to decide
how elections are run.
Trump's initial executive order to revamp elections by requiring
documentary proof of citizenship, issued last year, was largely halted
by multiplefederal judges on similar grounds. He issued his latest order
only after the voting bill he backed stalled in Congress. The current
legal fight comes as the country is in the midst of primary elections
and election officials are preparing for the intricacies of holding the
fall's midterm elections.
“I understand the time pressure here,” said Nichols, who questioned both
sides but gave no clear indication of which way he's leaning.
The president can’t rewrite election rules to give himself and the
Republican Party a partisan advantage, the plaintiffs’ attorneys said.
They argued that the executive order’s requirements are illegal and
designed to coerce states into limiting voter registration and ballot
access.
“It is harming our clients every day in the middle of an election
season,” said Orion Nevers, an attorney representing the NAACP.
Democrats are more likely to vote by mail. Since even before his 2020
loss, Trump has falsely implied there is mass fraud involved in the
practice and fought to curtail it, even after his baseless claims led to
the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and were repeatedly
debunked by audits and reviews, including some run by Republicans.
Since returning to office, Trump has said he wants Republicans to “take
over” elections in Democratic areas and launched investigations of the
2020 vote.
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Megan Green fills out her ballot in the Nebraska Primary Election at
Omaha Community Playhouse Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Omaha, Neb. (AP
Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)
His latest executive order calls on the Department of Homeland
Security to make a list of eligible voters in each state and seeks
to prohibit the U.S. Postal Service from sending absentee ballots to
those not on each state’s approved list.
The administration is asking the judge to dismiss the plaintiffs’
claims. Justice Department attorney Stephen Pezzi on Thursday
suggested that the litigation is premature, calling it
“shadowboxing” for the plaintiffs to challenge a list that hasn’t
yet been created.
“It’s a little hard to address these questions in the abstract,”
Pezzi said.
Nichols, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, asked Pezzi why it
would be lawful to disseminate the list to states.
“I think it would be the plaintiffs’ burden to explain why it’s
unlawful,” Pezzi replied. “I don’t mean to be cute with that
answer.”
Trump’s executive order requires federal agencies to compile a list
of adults the U.S. government has purportedly “confirmed” to be U.S.
citizens and to share it with each state at least 60 days before
each federal election.
“There isn’t a way to lawfully compile it,” said Lalitha Madduri, an
attorney for Democratic Party plaintiffs.
Danielle Lang, who represents the League of United Latin American
Citizens, said the executive order is aimed at creating “the maximum
amount of chaos and confusion” for local election officials.
“They need clear direction,” Lang said.
___
Riccardi reported from Denver.
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