Maryland Attorney General Joins Lawsuit Challenging Presidential Executive Order on Election Administration

Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown has joined a coalition of 23 other state attorneys general and one governor in filing a lawsuit against President Trump. The legal challenge, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, targets an Executive Order that the coalition argues unlawfully attempts to assert federal control over state election administration. The order, if implemented, would restrict voter eligibility and mail-in voting by requiring states to use voter lists pre-authorized by the federal government, a move the plaintiffs contend threatens to disenfranchise eligible voters and violates the constitutional authority of states to manage their own elections.

The Executive Order in question, signed by President Trump on March 31, aims to establish a national list of eligible voters. It also directs the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots exclusively to individuals on this federally approved list. The order includes provisions that threaten state election officials with criminal prosecution and the potential loss of federal funding if they do not comply with its directives. The attorneys general and governor involved in the lawsuit assert that this order would force states to operate in contradiction to their established voter roll procedures, vote-by-mail systems, and voter registration laws.

The lawsuit contends that the U.S. Constitution vests primary authority for administering elections in the states, not the President. It further argues that the President lacks the constitutional power to unilaterally alter federal election procedures, especially without the explicit authorization of Congress. The attorneys general highlight the intricate and time-consuming nature of election administration, emphasizing that the Executive Order would necessitate rapid and disruptive changes to existing state systems. Such abrupt alterations, they argue, could lead to widespread confusion, chaos, and a loss of public trust in election processes, while simultaneously jeopardizing the voting rights of eligible citizens.

Furthermore, the coalition’s legal filing alleges that the President’s Executive Order violates the principle of separation of powers and improperly interferes with the mail voting programs implemented by individual states. The plaintiffs are seeking a court injunction to prevent the federal government from enacting or enforcing the Executive Order. The states participating in the lawsuit, in addition to Maryland, include California, Massachusetts, Nevada, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Pennsylvania’s governor is also part of the coalition.

Voters across the political spectrum, in every state, and from all demographic backgrounds utilize mail-in voting, including the President himself. State and federal laws ensure that all eligible citizens have the right to cast a ballot and have their vote counted in state and federal elections. The states involved in this lawsuit permit registered voters to cast their ballots by mail if they meet their respective state’s requirements for such voting. The rapid implementation of the Executive Order’s demands, potentially within weeks of upcoming primary elections and mere months before the start of mail voting for the 2026 general election, is expected to create significant challenges for state election officials.

Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office.

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