Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, along with 18 other attorneys general, has filed a lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump and his administration. The lawsuit challenges Executive Order No. 14248, referred to as the "Elections Executive Order," which introduces voting restrictions that the coalition deems unconstitutional and antidemocratic.
According to the lawsuit, the Executive Order seeks to impose stringent proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration and disrupt established state procedures for ballot counting. These actions, the coalition argues, fall beyond the President's constitutional authority and violate the separation of powers dictated by state and federal laws.
"The President has no constitutional power to rewrite state election laws by decree, nor does the President have the authority to change the laws passed by Congress for federal elections," the coalition argues in the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Attorney General Nessel believes the executive order undermines Michigan's electoral process, stating, "Not only is Donald Trump’s executive order unconstitutional and undemocratic, it unilaterally disrupts elections in our state, undermining the electoral process for millions of Michigan voters."
The states that have joined Michigan in this legal action include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.