A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Friday struck down parts of President Donald Trump's executive order on voter registration, ruling that key provisions requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship on federal voter registration and absentee ballot forms violated the separation of powers.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, wrote in a 110-page opinion that Trump's March 25 order directing agency heads to "assess citizenship" before providing certain prospective voters with federal registration forms was "contrary to the NVRA [National Voter Registration Act]" and improperly intruded on Congress' constitutional authority over federal elections.
"Because the President's directive to agency heads to 'assess citizenship' ... is contrary to the NVRA and intrudes upon Congress' constitutional authority to regulate federal elections, the President's supervisory authority over the Executive Branch cannot sustain that directive," Kollar-Kotelly wrote.
The judge ruled that the NVRA "leaves no role for agencies to 'assess citizenship'" and concluded that "Section 2(d)" of Trump's order "is inconsistent with the constitutional separation of powers and cannot lawfully be implemented."
Kollar-Kotelly also ruled that a permanent injunction is warranted, writing, "The Court shall PERMANENTLY ENJOIN the relevant Federal Defendants from taking any action to implement or give effect to that Section 2(d)."
In addition, Kollar-Kotelly struck down Section 3(d) of Trump's order, which directed the war secretary to update a federal absentee voter form to require documentary proof of citizenship.
"For similar reasons, the Court shall now GRANT summary judgment in Plaintiffs' favor ... and PERMANENTLY ENJOIN the implementation of that provision," she wrote.
Three lawsuits were filed days after Trump's order by the League of United Latin American Citizens, the League of Women Voters, the Democratic National Committee, and other Democrat Party committees and allied groups against Trump and federal election agencies.
The cases were later consolidated.
Kollar-Kotelly did not block every provision of Trump's order, as the litigation continues, including disputes involving federal data-sharing programs.
She wrote that "in the course of implementing Sections 2(b) and 3(a) ... the Federal Defendants must strictly comply with the mandates of the Privacy Act," including requirements for "at least 30 days' notice and opportunity for comment" before any new "routine use" of records.
Kollar-Kotelly granted summary judgment for the government on several claims "because the Plaintiffs have not established that those claims are ripe for the Court's review."
She also dismissed certain Administrative Procedure Act claims, writing that they must be dismissed because the plaintiffs "have not shown final agency action."
She ruled the plaintiffs' request regarding changes to the Department of Homeland Security's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program, known as SAVE, was moot "because of intervening actions by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration."
Kollar-Kotelly said additional proceedings will be necessary to resolve the remaining claims in the lawsuit.
Newsmax reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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