Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison joined the lawsuit.
(The Center Square) – Democratic officials from 23 states and the District of Columbia announced Friday they’re suing to block President Donald Trump’s recent executive order regulating mail-in and absentee ballots.
The suit was slated to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. A copy of the lawsuit wasn’t available as of press time.
Trump doesn’t have the constitutional authority to control elections, California Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters during a news conference Friday morning. Bonta, a Democrat who’s co-leading the coalition of plaintiffs, noted the authority rests with states and Congress, not the federal executive branch.
“The framers of our Constitution made sure that how we choose our leaders is not put in the hands of a single leader” such as Trump, Bonta said.
Others co-leading the coalition of plaintiffs are Attorneys General Andrea Joy Campbell of Massachusetts, Aaron Ford of Nevada and Nick Brown of Washington state.
The Center Square reached out Friday morning to the White House, which noted the Republican president’s order was designed to secure elections.
“Only Democrat politicians and operatives would be upset about lawful efforts to secure American elections and ensure only eligible American citizens are casting ballots,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, answering The Center Square’s questions by email. “President Trump campaigned on securing our elections, and the American people sent him back to the White House to get the job done.”