Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on April 3 that he, along with a coalition of 22 other attorneys general and one governor, has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump. The suit challenges an executive order signed by Trump on March 31, which the plaintiffs argue unlawfully interferes with states’ authority to administer elections by restricting voter eligibility and mail voting to individuals pre-authorized by the federal government.
The legal action highlights concerns about the balance of power between state and federal governments in managing elections. According to the coalition, the executive order threatens to disenfranchise eligible voters and violates constitutional principles granting states primary control over election administration.
“Once again, Donald Trump is trying to use powers he doesn’t have to make an end run around our states and our Constitution. His Executive Order on elections is very clearly unlawful because the Constitution grants states, not the federal government, the power to run our elections,” said Attorney General Ellison. “Minnesota has a long and proud history of free, fair, and secure elections that have some of the highest voter turnout in the nation. Meanwhile, Donald Trump and his team tried to overturn a free and fair election simply because Trump lost. I’m taking Trump to court because I will not allow anyone to violate the law and restrict Minnesotans’ freedom to vote, especially not a president who has repeatedly shown he will sacrifice American democracy for his own political gain.”
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for Massachusetts. It asserts that Trump’s executive order would force states to change their existing procedures for maintaining voter rolls, conducting mail-in voting programs, and registering voters—potentially requiring widespread changes just weeks before primary elections begin.
The complaint further alleges that threatening criminal prosecution or loss of federal funding for noncompliance could disrupt state election systems nationwide. The coalition argues these actions would create confusion among voters as well as local officials responsible for running upcoming primaries and general elections.
Joining Ellison are attorneys general from Massachusetts (Andrea Joy Campbell), California (Rob Bonta), Nevada (Aaron Ford), Washington (Nick Brown), Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island,Vermont,V irginia,Wisconsin,and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
The case raises questions about future interactions between state-level election management practices and potential federal directives.
