Attorney General Bonta Files Motion for Preliminary Injunction to Halt Implementation of President Trump’s Unlawful Elections Executive Order

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford today led a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing a motion for a preliminary injunction to block the Trump Administration from implementing Executive Order No. 14248 (Executive Order), an unconstitutional, antidemocratic, and un-American attempt to impose sweeping voting restrictions across the country. Among other things, the Executive Order attempts to conscript state election officials in the President’s campaign to impose documentary proof of citizenship requirements for voter registration, force States to ignore mail ballots that are cast by Election Day but received by election officials just days afterward, and withhold various streams of federal funding from the States if they fail to comply.  

On April 3, the attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging the Executive Order. The lawsuit underscores that the power to regulate elections rests exclusively with the States and Congress — not the President. Since then, the Trump Administration has begun taking steps to implement the Executive Order. In their motion for a preliminary injunction, the attorneys general argue that they are likely to win on the merits of their lawsuit, that their States have unique and profound interests at stake in the litigation, and that their States will suffer irreparable harms without court-ordered relief. 

“Last month, my fellow attorneys general and I sued President Trump over his unconstitutional elections Executive Order. We are now back in court because our States are facing imminent and concrete harms,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Elections don’t just happen overnight — States must devote significant resources and countless hours of preparation to make them happen. The Executive Order threatens to disrupt that process, to the detriment of California and its voters, so we are asking the court to halt its implementation.”

In their motion for a preliminary injunction, the attorneys general explain that the Executive Order acutely injures their States’ compelling interest in preserving the integrity of their election processes. For instance, the documentary proof of citizenship requirements have necessitated an immediate response from some state elections officials, who must consider how to carry out their voter registration duties subject to the new requirements by meeting with their staff, speaking with local elections officials, and beginning to plan for a near future with the requirements in place — or risk the loss of federal funding. In addition, to force States to comply with the new ballot receipt deadline, the Executive Order uses enforcement threats by the United States Attorney General and conditions on funding. And, to properly administer elections in line with that new ballot receipt deadline, state elections administrators must devote significant additional resources to training, education, and support of local elections officials and the voting public.  

In filing today’s motion for a preliminary injunction, Attorneys General Bonta and Ford are joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. 

A copy of the motion can be found here.