Judge blocks Trump requirement on citizenship proof to vote

Judge blocks – A Massachusetts federal judge ruled June 24 that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority by requiring voters to present documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote, delivering another legal setback to a March 2025 executive order. The decis

The morning after President Donald Trump claimed voter ID would be required for the midterm elections, a Massachusetts federal judge issued a decision that undercut a closely related push: documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote.

On June 24. Judge Denise Casper blocked Trump’s requirement. ruling that it exceeded his authority under the Constitution and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. The case targets a provision from a March 2025 executive order that would have forced state and local officials to include details about citizenship documentation on a national form used for voter registration applications.

The ruling lands amid a wider pattern of legal defeats for the administration’s election-focused actions. Multiple other courts have blocked Trump’s requirement in recent months, finding it went beyond presidential power.

U.S. citizenship is already required to vote, and voter registration forms already ask applicants to attest that they are citizens. But several states argued that requiring documentary proof could create a major obstacle for voters. Many forms of government ID, the states noted, do not include citizenship information, and many Americans do not have passports.

Casper. an Obama appointee. agreed with several Democratic-led states that the citizenship proof mandate was unconstitutional and conflicted with how the National Voter Registration Act sets voter registration procedures. The judge pointed to the limits placed on federal election administration: the Constitution’s first article gives states and Congress authority over running elections. but not the president.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said Trump would keep fighting. “President Trump is committed to ensuring that Americans have full confidence in the administration of our elections,” she said. She added. “The President’s executive order lawfully protects our elections. and we are confident that we will ultimately prevail in its implementation.”.

The Justice Department did not comment.

The decision comes as Trump’s administration faces courtroom challenges to other election requirements as well. including new regulations on mail-in voting that have also been met with legal action. The citizenship proof fight is part of a larger set of measures Trump has sought to implement during his current administration.

At the center of that broader effort are years of baseless claims by Trump that elections he or other Republicans lost were rigged, including his 2020 presidential election loss to then–former Vice President Joe Biden.

For now, Judge Casper’s ruling keeps the citizenship proof requirement from taking effect as written—while the administration weighs what comes next and courts continue to sort through what authority the president has when election procedures are involved.

Trump citizenship proof voter registration midterm elections Judge Denise Casper National Voter Registration Act Abigail Jackson Justice Department mail-in voting regulations