Virginia sues Trump Administration over executive order restricting mail-in voting
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia has joined a multi-state lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's executive order that restricts mail-in voting, potentially reshaping federal elections.
Attorney General Jay Jones brought forth the suit as part of a 22-state coalition on Friday, April 3, after he told 8News the day before that he would move to stop the White House's "illegal" order issued on Tuesday, March 31. Jones said any changes to how states run federal elections need to come from Congress.
“The President continues to overreach, to overstep, to ignore the law, to ignore commonly held tradition and custom in service of a vision that does not align with what we do here in Virginia and in this country as it relates to the rule of law,” Jones told 8News on Thursday, April 2.
Trump's executive order directs federal agencies to create a list of U.S. citizens eligible to vote in each state and bars the U.S. Postal Service from sending ballots to anyone not listed.
The attorney general's office said the order does not affect balloting for Virginia's redistricting referendum on April 21, though it would "disenfranchise voters" in the midterms this November. He called the directive from the Oval Office unconstitutional and an "illegal power grab."
“This is a blatant attempt by Donald Trump to sow confusion and distrust in our democratic processes and to influence the midterm elections for his own personal gain,” Jones said in a release.
The coalition argued that the executive order would "upend" procedures currently in place for election administration and force states to "conduct statewide voter education at a dangerously quick pace," creating chaos, confusion and distrust in state election systems.
Under the executive order, the U.S. Postal Service would need to transmit mail-in and absentee ballots in specific envelopes with a barcode for tracking.
Attorneys general of Massachusetts, California, Nevada and Washington led the suit. Top prosecutors from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin joined in the legal effort.
