“This fearmongering and arrogation of states’ authority is plainly unconstitutional. I’m proud to join attorneys general across the country in defending the right to the franchise and to use every legal tool available to us to stop the president’s illegal power grab,” Jones said.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones has joined a coalition of at least 23 state attorneys general in suing President Donald Trump, who recently signed an executive order that could upend the federal elections process.
According to The Virginia Mercury, the lawsuit was filed earlier this week in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. In court documents, the attorneys general claim that Trump’s executive order, signed into effect at the end of March, unlawfully attempts to restrict voter eligibility and mail-in ballot voting by directing federal agencies to create a national list of approved voters. Eligibility could be further restricted based on other factors, including an individual’s residency or citizenship status.
“This is a blatant attempt by Donald Trump to sow confusion and distrust in our democratic processes and to influence the midterm elections for his own personal gain,” Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones said in a statement.
Jones noted that the president’s executive order will not have any impact on Virginia’s upcoming redistricting referendum, early voting on which has already begun. However, Jones cautioned that, if left unchecked, the executive order could lead to disenfranchisement in the November midterm election.
“This fearmongering and arrogation of states’ authority is plainly unconstitutional. I’m proud to join attorneys general across the country in defending the right to the franchise and to use every legal tool available to us to stop the president’s illegal power grab,” Jones said.
The executive order, adds News-10, directs the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to compile “citizenship lists,” which are to be sent to state elections officials 60 or more days before the midterms. It also orders the U.S. Postal Service to reject mail-in ballots submitted by anyone whose name is not on a citizenship list.
The executive order also requires that all mail-in ballots be sent in an official envelope, accompanied by a barcode for tracking.
The lawsuit alleges that these changes have been made at a point when the midterms are effectively already underway. The attorneys general also claim that the order is unlawful because it threatens local election officials with federal criminal charges should they follow contradicting state law.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit, said that the executive order represents yet another attempt to sow wide-ranging distrust in the democratic process.
“Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy, and no president has the power to rewrite the rules on his own,” James said on Friday. “This executive order is yet another attempt to disenfranchise voters and sow distrust in our electoral system as we head into the next election cycle.”
Sources
Virginia joins multi-state lawsuit challenging Trump’s election order
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