Oregon, Washington and 21 other states on Friday became the latest parties to challenge a new executive order from President Donald Trump that, if it stands, would reshape mail voting throughout the country.<\/p>\n
In a lawsuit filed in Massachusetts, the states argue that Trump far exceeded his authority with an order issued Tuesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n Among its provisions, the order would direct federal agencies to create a list of voters who are eligible to vote in federal elections in each state and require that the United States Postal Service allow federal ballots to go to only those people. The order would allow the federal government to withhold funding from states that fail to comply.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s order has been broadly panned as illegal by critics, who point out that the U.S. Constitution gives authority over election administration to the states and to Congress \u2014 not the president.<\/p>\n There are already at least two existing lawsuits challenging the executive order, a second lawsuit also filed in Massachusetts\u00a0<\/a>by voting rights groups, and another filed in Washington, D.C.<\/a>, by Democratic Party organizations.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality is this, the president has not and never will have the power to regulate elections here in the United States,\u201d Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, a Democrat, told reporters in a press conference Friday morning, summarizing the thrust of the new lawsuit. \u201cThis is a role that was intentionally put into the hands of Congress and states, and the president does not get to usurp that power.\u201d<\/p>\n Rayfield argued that Trump\u2019s order amounted to a power grab by a president whose approval numbers are falling.<\/a> He said the voter lists that the order would create will be prone to errors, and that new controls over who could receive ballots amount to \u201cweaponizing\u201d the postal service.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is about control,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen politicians start to see that they\u2019re losing power or their grip on control, they start to implement ideas and thoughts on elections to maintain that control and power. And you\u2019ve seen that during this last year.\u201d<\/p>\n Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat seeking reelection this year, offered a similar stance. \u201c[Trump\u2019s] attack on the fundamental right of every American to vote has nothing to do with election integrity and everything to do with silencing people so he can ultimately influence election results,\u201d she said in a statement.<\/p>\n As states prepare for this year\u2019s general election, the suit filed Friday says Trump\u2019s order would create pandemonium.<\/p>\n \u201cEven with Plaintiff States\u2019 best efforts, the EO has sown and will sow confusion and chaos in their election systems, together with the threat of disenfranchisement of States\u2019 voters,\u201d the lawsuit says.<\/p>\n Oregon is a national pioneer in vote by mail. In 2000, it became the first state in the nation to conduct all elections via mail ballots, though election officials increasingly urge voters to use drop boxes to ensure their ballot is counted.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s executive order is the latest step in his crusade against mail voting, which he often claims without evidence opens the door to mass voter fraud. The president used a mailed ballot to vote in a Florida election last week.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s new effort is not his first attempt to influence election rules by executive order. A 2025 order that would have required citizens to submit proof of citizenship to register to vote and also required all ballots to be received by Election Day was struck down by the courts<\/a>.<\/p>\n The president is pushing a bill, the SAVE America Act, that would accomplish some of those same goals. It is mired in the U.S. Senate with little chance of passage.<\/p>\n While Democrats like Rayfield say there\u2019s little doubt that Trump\u2019s latest order will be held up in court, Oregon is preparing for likely changes in how it runs elections this year.<\/p>\n