WASHINGTON, DC – In late October, a federal judge blocked a portion of March executive order from President Donald Trump which would require that individuals prove their citizenship before casting their vote in any federal election. According to the rationale behind the ruling, the judge claimed President Trump “lacks the authority” to impose such rules around voting and elections.
Since taking office this past January, President Trump and his respective administration have been no stranger to challenges and adversarial rulings coming from the courts, with the latest iteration of such coming from U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on October 31st.
The aforementioned federal judge took aim at President Trump’s executive order from March which addressed concerns about non-citizens potentially being able to cast votes in federal elections. Given the legitimate public interest in the realm of voter ID endeavors, Trump’s executive order mandated that all would-be voters would have to present some form of identification that proves they’re a United States citizen – be it a passport or some other appropriate document.
However, in Judge Kollar-Kotelly’s October 31st ruling, she claimed that President Trump doesn’t have the ability to institute anything that could be construed as a de facto voting law or guideline regarding federal elections, adding that said powers rest solely with the states and Congress.
“The first question presented in these consolidated cases is whether the president, acting unilaterally, may direct changes to federal election procedures,” Judge Kollar-Kotelly noted in her opinion, adding, “Because our Constitution assigns responsibility for election regulation to the States and to Congress, this Court holds that the President lacks the authority to direct such changes.”
The judge’s ruling came via a lawsuit brought by several Democrat-leaning parties including the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Democratic National Committee, which said lawsuit argued that the president isn’t allocated any such authority by the Constitution to amend voting laws and guidelines.
While the federal judge agreed with the plaintiffs in the case, White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson claims that a “higher court” will see the error in the judge’s ruling, as she claims President Trump was acting within a lawful capacity when issuing the executive order at hand.
“President Trump has exercised his lawful authority to ensure only American citizens are casting ballots in American elections,” Jackson noted in a statement regarding the judge’s recent ruling, adding, “This is so commonsense that only the Democrat Party would file a lawsuit against it. We expect to be vindicated by a higher court.”
Since taking office this past January, President Trump and his respective administration have been no stranger to challenges and adversarial rulings coming from the courts, with the latest iteration of such coming from U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on October 31st.
The aforementioned federal judge took aim at President Trump’s executive order from March which addressed concerns about non-citizens potentially being able to cast votes in federal elections. Given the legitimate public interest in the realm of voter ID endeavors, Trump’s executive order mandated that all would-be voters would have to present some form of identification that proves they’re a United States citizen – be it a passport or some other appropriate document.
However, in Judge Kollar-Kotelly’s October 31st ruling, she claimed that President Trump doesn’t have the ability to institute anything that could be construed as a de facto voting law or guideline regarding federal elections, adding that said powers rest solely with the states and Congress.
“The first question presented in these consolidated cases is whether the president, acting unilaterally, may direct changes to federal election procedures,” Judge Kollar-Kotelly noted in her opinion, adding, “Because our Constitution assigns responsibility for election regulation to the States and to Congress, this Court holds that the President lacks the authority to direct such changes.”
The judge’s ruling came via a lawsuit brought by several Democrat-leaning parties including the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Democratic National Committee, which said lawsuit argued that the president isn’t allocated any such authority by the Constitution to amend voting laws and guidelines.
While the federal judge agreed with the plaintiffs in the case, White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson claims that a “higher court” will see the error in the judge’s ruling, as she claims President Trump was acting within a lawful capacity when issuing the executive order at hand.
“President Trump has exercised his lawful authority to ensure only American citizens are casting ballots in American elections,” Jackson noted in a statement regarding the judge’s recent ruling, adding, “This is so commonsense that only the Democrat Party would file a lawsuit against it. We expect to be vindicated by a higher court.”
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