Earlier today, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston ruled against Donald Trump’s Executive Order that, if allowed, would give the Executive Branch unprecedented control over American elections, including the regulation of mail-in ballots.
In her ruling for the Democratic statewide Attorney Generals, like Arizona’s Kris Mayes, who brought the suit, she wrote, “The Constitution does not grant the President any specific powers over elections.”
This is the second judicial rebuke of the Trump regime’s drive to control American elections in 24 hours.
Yesterday, another Boston jurist, Judge Denise Casper, issued a permanent injunction against Trump’s goal of requiring documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
In her ruling, Casper used similar wording in the Talwani ruling, writing “The Constitution does not grant the President any specific powers over elections.”
Reacting to the Talwani ruling, Arizona Attorney General Mayes wrote in an official press release:
“Millions of Independents, Republicans, and Democrats across Arizona have voted by mail for decades. In fact, nearly 80% of Arizona voters cast their ballots this way election after election. Military families vote by mail. Rural Arizonans vote by mail. Tribal members vote by mail. Donald Trump’s executive order targeted all of these voters. But today, the courts affirmed what the Constitution makes clear: states run their elections, not the President. Arizona will never allow the Trump administration to seize control of our elections.”
Later, on social media, she said this in the below video:
“Everybody, it’s Attorney General Kris Mayes. We just got some really fantastic news. Federal court has struck down the Trump administration’s attempt to seize control over state elections, including by forcing the Postal Service to develop lists of eligible voters and putting restrictions on vote by mail.
The court said no, the Trump administration can’t do that. Voting and elections are matters for the states, and so we will continue to have vote-by-mail in Arizona, and we’re going to continue to run fantastic elections in our state. 80 percent of Arizonans, including a whole bunch of military members, our tribal members, and Arizonans across the state, depend on vote by mail.
We’re going to continue to have it and to run a fantastic election, so I hope everybody has a great day.”
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes also reacted to today’s ruling in his own social media video, saying:
“Hey folks, real quick about the decision from a district court to date, temporarily halting the executive order that Donald Trump made trying to take over the way that ballot by mail happens in the United States of America. It is unconstitutional, but that temporary pause in that one case isn’t the only thing we’re dealing with. We also have a proposition that was referred to the ballot by members of the Arizona legislature that would effectively kill ballot by mail in Arizona.
Now, this is a system that over 80% of our voters use every cycle. We’re going to continue to fight to protect your right to vote by mail in Arizona. Now, if you need any information about registering where or how to vote, remember, you can go to arizona.vote. I’m Adrian Fontes, Arizona Secretary of State, and with your help, we will protect your right to vote.”
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