US judge blocks Trump administration from overhauling federal elections

BOSTON: A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from implementing parts of his sweeping executive order overhauling federal elections, including by requiring proof of US citizenship to register to vote and barring states from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day.

US District Judge Denise Casper in Boston issued a preliminary injunction at the behest of 19 Democratic-led states who had argued that the Republican president lacked the authority to mandate changes to elections and the states’ voting procedures.

The lawsuit is one of several across the nation challenging Trump’s March 25 executive order, which he signed after years of raising doubts about the integrity of the US electoral system and falsely claiming that his 2020 loss to Democratic former President Joe Biden resulted from widespread voter fraud.

While parts of Trump’s order had already been blocked in April by a judge in Washington, Casper’s ruling went further as she concluded the states had established key pieces of the president’s order were likely unlawful and unconstitutional.

“The Constitution does not grant the president any specific powers over elections,” Casper, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, wrote.