Press Release  AG Campbell Blocks Trump Administration From Exerting Federal Control Over Elections

Boston — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today secured a victory from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, blocking President Trump’s unlawful Executive Order that attempted to interfere with states’ constitutional authority to administer elections. The final ruling follows a multistate lawsuit co-led by AG Campbell for a coalition of 24 states that challenged the Administration’s attempt to restrict voting to individuals on lists pre-authorized by the federal government and voting-by-mail to lists maintained by the U.S. Postal Service.   

“This win protects the fundamental right of every eligible voter to participate freely and fairly in our democracy. The Court’s decision makes clear that the president cannot unilaterally rewrite the rules of our elections to undermine the authority of states,” said AG Campbell. “I will continue protecting the security of our election process to ensure that every eligible voter can cast their ballot and have their vote counted.”  

On March 31, 2026, President Trump signed an Executive Order purporting to develop lists of eligible voters in each state and directing the U.S. Postal Service, an independent federal agency, to develop its own such list and transmit mail ballots only to those on the list. The Executive Order also threatened states and elections officials with criminal prosecution and the loss of federal funding if they do not comply with his demands. In their lawsuit challenging the unlawful Executive Order, the Attorneys General argued that the Order would require states to act contrary to their own election laws, voter roll procedures, and vote-by-mail systems.  

The court’s decision declares the challenged sections of the Executive Order to be unconstitutional and beyond the President’s authority, and enjoins the Defendants from implementing them with respect to the November 3, 2026, election—and any earlier federal election in the Plaintiff States. The coalition will submit a proposed judgment to the court within the next seven days.   

AG Campbell was joined in filing this lawsuit, which she co-led with California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, and Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and the Governor of Pennsylvania.  

Yesterday, AG Campbell secured a victory in a separate lawsuit challenging President Trump’s March 25, 2025, Executive Order that attempted to require documentary proof of citizenship requirements for voter registration, force States to ignore mail ballots that are cast by Election Day but received by election officials just days afterward, and withhold various streams of federal funding from the States if they fail to comply. The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled in favor of the coalition, declaring key provisions of the Executive Order unconstitutional and inconsistent with federal law.   

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