ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL PROTECTS ELECTIONS FROM FEDERAL OVERREACH, PERMANENTLY BLOCKS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S UNLAWFUL EXECUTIVE ORDERS

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL PROTECTS ELECTIONS FROM FEDERAL OVERREACH, PERMANENTLY BLOCKS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S UNLAWFUL EXECUTIVE ORDERS

June 25, 2026

Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul scored two separate legal victories permanently blocking the implementation of key provisions in President Trump's unlawful executive orders that attempted to interfere with states' constitutional authority to administer elections.

"These rulings are a win for democracy. They acknowledge that Congress and individual states - not the president - have the authority to oversee the elections process," Raoul said. "Nothing is more fundamental to the perseverance of our democracy than the right to vote. Instead of imposing voting restrictions, we should encourage more Americans across the country to participate in the democratic process. I will continue to defend the rule of law and work to ensure that eligible voters are not met with obstacles when they attempt to exercise their constitutional right to vote."

Today, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts blocked a March executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security to develop lists of eligible voters in each state and directing the U.S. Postal Service, an independent federal agency, to develop its own such list and transmit mail ballots only to those on the list. The executive order also threatened states and elections officials with criminal prosecution and the loss of federal funding if they did not comply with its demands.

Raoul and a coalition of states filed a lawsuit in April challenging provisions of the order. Today, the court granted the coalition's motion for summary judgment and permanently blocked those provisions.

The court's decision declares the challenged sections of the executive order unconstitutional and beyond the president's authority. It bars the defendants from implementing them with respect to the Nov. 3, 2026, election and any earlier federal election in the plaintiff states.

Today's ruling comes after the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted a permanent injunction yesterday in a separate lawsuit, filed in April 2025 by Raoul and a coalition of attorneys general, challenging a prior executive order targeting elections. The court ruled in favor of the coalition, declaring the challenged sections of the executive order unconstitutional and inconsistent with federal law.

The court's ruling blocked key provisions of the executive order that attempted to conscript state election officials in the president's campaign to require documentary proof of citizenship (such as a U.S. passport) 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.

Joining Raoul in the April 2026 lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as the governor of Pennsylvania.

Joining Raoul in the April 2025 lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.