Attorney General Bonta Moves to Permanently Block President Trump’s Executive Order Restricting Mail Voting, Exerting Control over Elections

Coalition seeks final ruling after filing lawsuit earlier this month to challenge unlawful executive order 

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta yesterday co-led a coalition of 23 attorneys general, along with the Governor of Pennsylvania, in filing a motion for summary judgment in their ongoing challenge to President Trump’s executive order that unlawfully attempts to interfere with states’ constitutional authority to administer elections by restricting voter eligibility and mail voting to lists of voters pre-authorized by the federal government. The power to regulate elections belongs primarily to the states. The President has no constitutional authority to make or alter laws governing federal elections. Earlier this month, Attorney General Bonta co-led the same coalition in bringing a lawsuit against the Administration, arguing that Executive Order No. 14399, entitled Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections, is unconstitutional and beyond the authority of the President and other federal officials. The motion for summary judgment asks the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to permanently block enforcement of the key provisions of the executive order, on the grounds that the law is clear and the case can be decided without a trial.

“President Trump’s executive order not only represents a dangerous attempt to erode public trust in free and fair elections; it also reeks of desperation. Facing clear political headwinds — as he and Republicans are likely to suffer heavy losses in the upcoming midterm elections — he is throwing everything at the wall and hoping something sticks. This will not,” said Attorney General Bonta. “We are seeking summary judgment because we firmly believe that the law is on our side and that the case can be decided expeditiously. President Trump has used mail voting himself. If it’s good enough for him, it should be accessible to other voters without unnecessary and unlawful obstacles.”

The coalition’s motion for summary judgment argues, among other things, that:

• The executive order’s attempt to dictate federal voter eligibility lists for each state, and its attempt to coerce states to deny ballots to voters excluded from those lists, unconstitutionally invades the coalition states’ power over their voter rolls.
• The executive order’s attempt to charge the states and USPS with compiling mail voter eligibility lists, and its prohibition on USPS transmitting mail ballots from voters not on those lists are unconstitutional and run headlong into states’ and Congress’s authority to regulate elections and Congress’s power to regulate USPS.
• The executive order threatens serious injury to the coalition states, including harms to the states’ sovereign powers to administer their elections, fiscal injuries from states being forced to administer elections under the federal government’s new procedures, legal jeopardy to states and their elections officials from the executive order’s directives to investigate and prosecute those who issue ballots to individuals purportedly ineligible to vote in a federal election, and harms to states’ reputations and public trust.

The court has ordered the Trump Administration to file its response and related motions by Thursday, May 7, 2026. A hearing on the motions is scheduled for Tuesday, June 2, 2026 at 7:00 AM PT/10:00 AM ET. The complete scheduling order is available here. 

Attorney General Bonta co-led the filing of the motion along with Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, and Washington Attorney General Nick Brown. They were joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.