Gov. Josh Shapiro and Democratic attorneys general from 21 states have sued in an attempt to block President Donald Trump\u2019s latest effort to bolster \u201celection integrity,\u201d ahead of the 2026 midterms.<\/p>\n
The legal complaint<\/a>, filed on Friday, asserts that state governments have authority over the voting process, with the only federal guidelines coming from acts of Congress. Trump\u2019s March 31 executive order<\/a>, which aims to regulate mail-in ballots through the U.S. Postal Service, is \u201cas unprecedented as it is unconstitutional,\u201d the 49-page suit states.<\/p>\n \u201cThe good people of Pennsylvania will vote \u2013 whether in person or by mail \u2013 their votes will be counted, and the will of the people will be respected,\u201d Shapiro said in a statement. \u201cPennsylvanians choose their representatives, not Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n Under the White House directive, the USPS is tasked with developing state-specific lists of those eligible to vote by mail or absentee ballot. State officials would be able to suggest modifications prior to Election Day. The order mandates that the postal service should not transmit any ballot envelope sent by someone not on the list.<\/p>\n Additionally, Trump instructed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to draw up a similar list of eligible voters, using federal citizenship databases. The names are to be provided to state election officials.<\/p>\n States that do not comply with the directive could lose out on federal funding, and the order also directs the U.S. Attorney General to prioritize criminal prosecutions of local officials who distribute ballots to people not eligible to vote.<\/p>\n Attorneys general from California, Massachusetts, Nevada and Washington took the lead in filing the lawsuit, which was submitted in Boston and is one of several legal challenges to the order.<\/p>\n