LWV v. Donald Trump

Law Forward filed an amici curiae brief in federal court in Boston challenging President Trump’s executive order directing the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to take over key functions of mail-in ballot administration.

The brief argues that the executive order would conflict with and upend Wisconsin’s uniquely decentralized election system and could disenfranchise eligible voters ahead of the next statewide election. The five amici include the nonprofit organizations Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and EXPO of Wisconsin as well as three Wisconsin voters who attend college out-of-state.

A similar brief was also filed in DSCC v. Trump, pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where three different groups of plaintiffs are seeking to block the executive order.

The Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution grants authority over federal election administration to states and Congress, not the president. By directing USPS to refuse to deliver ballots to anyone not on a new federal “citizenship list” compiled by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the order effectively allows the executive branch to unilaterally determine who is eligible to vote.