In a victory for American voters, a key part of the president’s recent executive order on elections was successfully and permanently halted. The president attempted to act beyond his power by unconstitutionally trying to establish new voter registration requirements and directing an independent agency to make drastic changes to our elections.
Campaign Legal Center, alongside a pro-voter coalition, successfully argued in front of a U.S. District Court that it is illegal for the president to set voting rules or direct the Elections Assistance Commission (EAC) to change federal election rules.
The EAC was designed by Congress to be independent and bipartisan. The president cannot legally dictate to the EAC what the federal voter registration form’s contents should be.
Here’s what happened:
In April 2025, 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) — asked the court to stop Section 2(a) of the executive order.
This section of the executive order purported to direct the EAC to require documents proving citizenship on the federal voter registration form.
The Constitution gives the states and Congress the express power to regulate our elections, not the president. As such, on April 24, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia entered a preliminary injunction blocking the President’s unlawful command to the EAC.
After further briefing, on Friday, October 31, 2025, the district court again concluded that the president has no constitutional authority to dictate the contents of the federal voter registration form, and it permanently struck down his unlawful attempt to do so, issuing a final judgment against the government.
What’s next:
Campaign Legal Center continues to litigate other unlawful provisions of this executive order, including the president’s attempt to override state mail ballot receipt deadlines and to make it more difficult for overseas and uniformed voters to use the federal post card application form to register and request absentee ballots.
Congress and the states, not the president, set elections rules. Campaign Legal Center, together with our clients and partners, will continue to stand up for this core separation of powers principle, ensuring that our elections remain safe, secure and accurate.
Read more about our lawsuit to block the Trump administration's illegal election overreach.
With your support, we will continue to protect all Americans’ access to the ballot box and their freedom to vote.