Maine is among the 23 states suing the Trump Administration over the president’s executive order outlining new federal actions intended to strengthen election integrity, enhance citizenship verification, and establish uniform standards for mail-in and absentee ballots.
Led by California and filed in a Massachusetts court, the challenge alleges that the directives represent an unconstitutional attempt to interfere with the states’ administration of elections.
According to the lawsuit, neither the Constitution nor any federal law gives the president the authority to mandate changes to election procedures.
In his executive order, President Donald Trump cited the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 as the legal basis for the new directives.
President Trump also pointed to Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution which entrusts the federal government with the responsibility of guaranteeing a republican form of Government to every State in the Union.
The challengers, however, have cited the Constitution’s Elections Clause, which gives states the power to govern elections alongside the United States Congress.
Under the order, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) would coordinate to compile and transmit what is described as a “State Citizenship List,” listing individuals confirmed to be U.S. citizens who are at least 18 years old and maintain residency within a given state.
The order also directed the Attorney General to prioritize investigations and prosecutions related to election fraud.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) would be required to establish new standards for mail-in and absentee ballot handling, including developing rules requiring outbound ballot mail to be clearly marked as Official Election Mail and to include automation-compatible envelopes bearing unique Intelligent Mail barcodes or successor technologies.
According to the coalition of states bringing the lawsuit, these provisions “transgress [their] constitutional power to prescribe the time, place, and manner of federal elections” and seek to “amend and dictate election law by fiat based on the President’s whims.”
The states argue that the president’s order “violates bedrock principles of federalism and separation of powers.”
“Each Plaintiff State has duly enacted laws governing voter rolls and mail voting that are, where applicable, consistent with statutory requirements set forth by Congress,” they wrote. “The EO disregards States’ inherent sovereignty and attempts to arrogate to the President the States’ and Congress’s constitutional power to regulate federal elections.”
Click Here to Read the Full Complaint
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows issued a statement Friday concerning Maine’s participation in the suit.
“Each time Donald Trump gets blocked in an attempt to control the outcome of the November Midterms, he just tries another tact,” Secretary Bellows said. “He fails in passing the SAVE Act, so he tries to change election law with a stroke of a sharpie.”
“There is no question this executive order is unconstitutional – laughably so,” said Bellows. “There is also no question that it will be soundly defeated in court.”
