U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper ruled that large portions of President Donald Trump's March 25, 2025 executive order titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections” exceeded presidential authority and violated the Constitution's separation of powers principle.
In her decision, Casper stated: 'While the Constitution vests the President with “the executive Power” and charges him to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed”... it does not grant the President any specific authority over elections.'
The executive order included provisions such as requiring proof of citizenship for federal voter registration, changes to voting rules for military and overseas voters, and withholding federal election funds from states that refuse to count ballots arriving after Election Day. The judge permanently blocked all of these sections.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said on social media that he hopes Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts “will understand the path these lawless judges are setting for the judiciary.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta described the ruling as a victory for the states. Bonta, who led the lawsuit, said: 'We sued President Trump over his attempt to impose unilateral voting restrictions nationwide, and we won.'
The ruling came as a result of a lawsuit filed by 19 states in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts. This was the second judicial blow against the same Trump executive order. In April 2025, another federal judge had blocked the provisions related to the proof of citizenship requirement.
Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers are continuing to push the SAVE Act through the House, which would require proof of citizenship for federal elections. Trump also keeps the legislation among his priorities, calling on Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster.
The only remaining question is whether the federal government can put conditions on election funding provided to certain states, and the parties have been given until July 10 to address this issue.
