Posted on 11/01/2025 8:52:51 AM PDT by Signalman
A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump’s request to add a documentary proof of citizenship requirement to the federal voter registration form cannot be enforced.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, a Clinton appointee, sided with left-wing and “civil rights” groups that had sued the Trump Administration over his executive order aimed at bolstering election integrity.
The order, titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” directs federal agencies like the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Social Security Administration (SSA), and Department of State to provide states access to federal databases to verify voter eligibility and citizenship during registration. Agencies under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) are also required to assess citizenship before distributing federal voter registration forms to public assistance enrollees.
In order to do so, the order mandates documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration in federal elections. In order to do so, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) was directed to update the national mail voter registration form to require proof, such as a passport, birth certificate, or Real ID-compliant driver’s license.
States that fail to comply with the directive would be at risk of losing federal funding, the order states.
The order has been met with several legal challenges from left-wing groups, including the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and attorneys general from 19 Democrat-controlled states.
On Friday, Judge Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the proof of citizenship directive is an unconstitutional violation of separation of powers. “Because our Constitution assigns responsibility for election regulation to the States and to Congress, this Court holds that the President lacks the authority to direct such changes,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote in her opinion.
She further ruled that on matters related to setting qualifications for voting and regulating federal election procedures “the Constitution assigns no direct role to the President in either domain.”
The latest opinion echoes comments made by the judge when she issued a preliminary injunction against voter ID provisions back in April. “Consistent with that allocation of power, Congress is currently debating legislation that would affect many of the changes the President purports to order,” the Clinton-appointed judge found at the time. “No statutory delegation of authority to the Executive Branch permits the President to short-circuit Congress’s deliberative process by executive order.”
Friday’s decision grants the plaintiffs a partial summary judgment that prohibits the proof of citizenship provision from going into effect. It also permanently bars the U.S. Election Assistance Commission from adding the requirement to the federal voting form.
Both voter ID and bolstering noncitizen voting enforcement have long been popular policy positions among voters. According to a poll from Gallup taken just before the 2024 presidential election, 84 percent of U.S. adults were in favor of requiring voters to show identification while 83 percent supported requiring proof of citizenship when registering for the first time.
Such policies are also popular along party lines, with 67 percent of Democrats and 84 percent of independents expressing support for mandatory voter ID. Among Republicans support is near unanimous, with 98 percent of respondents expressing support.
The breakdown on proof of citizenship requirements was similar, with 66 percent of Democrats, 84 percent of Independents and 96 percent of Republicans supporting the idea.
Action on election integrity and voter ID laws in particular have long been a focus of President Trump’s agenda. “The system, it’s not a question of being broken — the system is corrupt,” Trump told Breitbart News back in August.
“It’s a corrupt system. A mail-in ballot will always be corrupt. When you go to a polling location and they want your identification and everything, the way — you can’t really vote unless it’s a legit deal. If you have mail-in ballots, nobody has any idea where it’s coming from or where it’s going to and then it travels through so many hands. Jimmy Carter came out a long time ago with a number of highly respected people and they wrote something, and the one thing that come out loud and clear is that mail-in ballots are corrupt. France had it, a lot of countries had it and they went away from it now.”
Let the SCOTUS decide.
Delegation of authority? So the President works for Congress?
So Trump's essentially being asked what's his dirt doing down there in Boss Congress' ditch? 
This concept of judicial independence has become entirely self serving. The principle of qualified immunity has been grossly abused. Federal judges are not elected unlike many state and municipal judges. There really is very little accountability from other branches of government and none from the people directly.
I think it’s time for a structurally different means of holding judges accountable for wrong and partisan decisions. These judges can be overturned for their bad and wrong decisions but there are no adverse consequences for their careers. If someone in the private sector did this crap, they’d be fired.
Judges have turned Lady Justice into a toxic wreck, which may be a good thing because the public had no idea about these black robed lawfare mercenaries selling rulings. Yes, it’s that bad.
Send them the legal bill once they are overturned. Why should tax payers pay for these scumbags to get a lesson in the law?
Except, sadly, he doesn’t.
Serious question:
What if, at long last, a conservative federal judge could be scrounged up somehow to issue a ruling requiring Senate Democrats to vote “yes” on the CR?
 Do you honestly think Chuckie would comply?
Off to the appeals process - all the way to the USSC if necessary.
Democrats have such little faith in the ability of their voters to obtain and carry proof of their ID—of who they are, lol—that they fight tooth & nail against such a requirement at the polls.
(And that’s a generous interpretation. Some might say, to prevent their fraud.)
Here, plainly are using judgefare to secure the votes of illegals, predicated on winning the budget impasse: they need to keep foreign nationals here illegally ... here.
And the cats will go back to where they came from if the government stops putting out saucers of milk for them.
You can’t make proof of citizenship a requirement to vote?
MADNESS ! ! !
Every person on Earth can vote in U.S. elections?
I would send this lunatic judge to a remote island and NEVER allow her to leave.
We have a nation of lunatic judges ! ! !
Well, they’ve done it half way. The SAVE Act was passed by the House back in April. Then it stalled in the SENATE. There was no way enough democrats were going to side with the Republicans to get the needed 60 votes.
He will comply and appeal and eventually win. Thats sadly is the game. Eventually he wins
IMPEACH THE STUPID WOMAN!!! Women are RUINING this country.
Another traitorous judge.
The FEC & HAVA (Federal Election Commission/Help America Vote Act) swamp have imposed on states many, many requirements that were never considered by Congress...or a president.
The FEC/HAVA is the origin of many of our recent election problems.
Why do they get a pass?
Yes that is the way Trump’s team has decided to play it. This one is especially offensive. No other country would tolerate this BS but the rats depend on it. Hopefully a quick overturn. I think there was 4 of these hack rulings in the last 10 days.
The so called federal judge is out of her element on laws fail ensues.
Despite the SCOTUS urling that these judges can’t override Trump on many issues, they still try to. Can anyone tell me if this judge’s ruling is enforceable? I’m so sick of stuff.
Not in our lifetime...
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