Washington, DC — Today, a key part of an anti-voter executive order was successfully halted after the president attempted to act beyond his power and direct an independent agency to make drastic changes to our elections.  

A judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an opinion and order affirming that it is not within the president’s authority to direct the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), an independent bipartisan agency, to implement burdensome and unnecessary documentation requirements for voter registration. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Secure Families Initiative (SFI) and Arizona Students’ Association (ASA) — represented by Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and State Democracy Defenders Fund (SDDF) — sought to prevent the EAC from taking any action to implement Section 2(a) of President Trump’s anti-voter executive order. 

The president does not have the authority to tell the EAC what changes they should make to the federal voter registration form. By law, the EAC determines the content of the federal voter registration form in accordance with strict rules set by Congress in the National Voter Registration Act. The president cannot legally dictate to the EAC what that form’s contents should be.

“Today’s ruling is a victory for voters across the country - particularly voters of color - and our democracy,” said Roman Palomares, LULAC National President. “Efforts to silence the voice and votes of the U.S. electorate must not stand because our democracy depends on all voters feeling confident that they can vote freely and that their vote will be counted accurately.”

“No president has the authority to dictate our election systems and processes,” said Danielle Lang, senior director of voting rights at Campaign Legal Center. “The Constitution gives the states and Congress the express power to regulate our elections. We are happy to see that the Constitution’s core principle of separation of powers has been upheld in this instance, and we look forward to continuing our challenge so everyday Americans can make their voices heard without unnecessary barriers.” 

“Military voters, nearly half of whom are voters of color, already jump through so many hoops just to participate in the very democracy our families serve to protect,” said Sarah Streyder, executive director of Secure Families Initiative. “We welcome today’s ruling as it halts what was an unlawful process that would have disproportionately harmed our community’s access to the ballot box.”

“This ruling is a resounding victory for democracy and the rule of law,” said Amb. Norm Eisen (ret.), co-founder and executive chair of the State Democracy Defenders Fund. “No president can trample the Constitution to impose anti-voter restrictions. Today’s decision affirms what we’ve known all along: our election systems must remain free from political interference, and the independence of our institutions must be protected.”

“This is a major win for our students in Arizona and across the country. If this anti-voter executive order had been allowed to continue it would have suppressed the ability of young people to vote. We’re thankful to the Campaign Legal Center, State Democracy Defenders Fund, and all the people who put in work to protect our voting rights.” Kyle Nitschke, Co-Executive Director of the Arizona Students’ Association. 

Keep up with our action against the administration’s unlawful executive order here. Read more about our lawsuit here.

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The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center advances democracy through law. We safeguard the freedom to vote, defend voters’ right to know who is spending money to influence elections, and work to ensure public trust in our elected officials.

Learn more about CLC. Don't miss out on our latest resources: Subscribe to President Trevor Potter's newsletter on LinkedIn or email, tune in to the latest season of our award-winning podcast, Democracy Decoded, and join our livestreamed events. 

Campaign Legal Center and 19 other good government partners have sent a letter to each Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, urging the body to approve the board of the Office of Congressional Conduct so that it can conduct investigations and review allegations of misconduct. 

Kedric Payne, Campaign Legal Center's vice president, general counsel and senior director for ethics, issued the following statement:

"A fully functioning Office of Congressional Conduct (the body formerly known as the Office of Congressional Ethics) is essential. As one of the only safeguards against corruption in Congress and the only independent ethics enforcement body in either chamber, the OCC serves as both a benefit to voters — providing them with transparency about their members of Congress — and the elected officials themselves, who deserve neutral, non-biased investigations into allegations of misconduct.

"Without a fully functioning OCC, Congress is left with a self-policing system fueled by partisanship and conflicts of interest. House leadership must quickly approve the OCC board. The American people have a right to know that their elected officials in Congress are prioritizing public interest over personal financial gain."

Bozeman, MT — Last month, Montana voters scored a victory after a federal court ruled to block the state’s enforcement of HB 892, a law passed in May 2023 that established unnecessary barriers to registering to vote in the state under the guise of preventing double voting. 

Under HB 892, voters and voter registration organizations were made responsible for ensuring that registration applicants somehow deregistered from a previous address before registering to vote in Montana. HB 892 would have also punished voters who do not provide detailed information — even if it is unintentionally omitted — about their previous place of residence when applying to register to vote. Voters who did not comply with these requirements, even if unintentionally, risked strict criminal penalties.

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) initially filed a lawsuit in Montana state court on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Montana (LWVMT) in October 2023 to challenge the constitutionality of HB 892. CLC also filed a preliminary injunction in November 2023 to try and stop enforcement of the bill. The evidence from the hearing on LWVMT’s preliminary injunction was cited in a separate federal lawsuit also challenging HB 892. Because HB 892 is now permanently blocked, Montana and LWVMT have agreed to dismiss the state case. 

“Our democracy works best when every voter can participate and civic organizations can freely express their pro-voting message,” said Danielle Lang, senior director for voting rights at Campaign Legal Center. “The fact that our state court lawsuit served as a catalyst to end enforcement of HB 892 under a different case reinforces our belief that states should be working to implement, rather than hinder, pro-voter reforms. Montanans deserve to register to vote free from fear, and CLC will continue to remain vigilant against other threats to democracy in the Mountain West.” 

"We are relieved to know that HB 892 has been permanently invalidated by the federal courts," said Nancy Leifer, President of the League of Women Voters of Montana. "Now Montana voters can register to vote without the threat of a felony conviction if they inadvertently are registered in two places at once, or fail to complete past registration location information correctly. The League will continue to protect Montana voters' ability to register and vote should problems arise in the future." 

Both Montana and the federal government have laws already in place to punish and prevent double voting. However, HB 892 attempted to shift the burden of deregistering at a past address from the state and onto voters, despite the state having no clear process to do so. 

If this law had been allowed to stand, nonpartisan civic engagement groups like LWVMT would have also been discouraged from and perhaps faced criminal penalties for carrying out their vital work to promote voting through registration, outreach and public engagement — which is a violation of the group’s constitutionally protected rights. 

Should Montana try to illegally enforce HB 892 again despite the federal court’s order, LWVMT could refile its lawsuit. CLC will continue to advocate for Montanans’ freedom to vote and nonpartisan civic engagement groups against future attempts to limit their rights at the expense of our democracy. 

More information on the latest updates regarding this case be can found on CLC’s case page. 

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The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center advances democracy through law. We safeguard the freedom to vote, defend voters’ right to know who is spending money to influence elections, and work to ensure public trust in our elected officials. 

Learn more about CLC. Don't miss out on our latest resources: Subscribe to President Trevor Potter's newsletter on LinkedIn or email, tune in to the latest season of our award-winning podcast, Democracy Decoded, and join our livestreamed events.