WASHINGTON, D.C.—In a new ruling, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia struck down key provisions of President Trump’s anti-voting executive order issued early last year. The court blocked provisions that directed certain federal agency heads to assess citizenship before providing voter registration forms to people receiving public assistance. It also blocked a provision that ordered the Secretary of Defense to add a documentary proof-of-citizenship requirement to the registration form for military and overseas voters.

"This decision defends a basic principle of our democracy: Congress and the states set the rules for federal elections. They are not dictated by unilateral decrees from the White House,” said Juan Proaño, chief executive officer of LULAC. “The provisions the court blocked would have created new barriers and confusion for eligible voters, but the court affirmed that the president has no role to play in elections. LULAC will keep fighting any attempt to make voting harder by federal agencies."

The case, LULAC v. Executive Office of the President, was brought on behalf of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Secure Families Initiative (SFI) and Arizona Students’ Association (ASA) by Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF) and Campaign Legal Center (CLC).

"This order is a major win for voters. The court permanently blocked key parts of the administration's executive order on voting,” said Tianna Mays, legal director of Democracy Defenders Fund. “The court made clear that the Constitution assigns elections to the States and Congress, that the President has no role to play in federal elections, and he cannot try to intervene by fiat."

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Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state, and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.