MADISON – Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul on Friday joined a coalition of 22 other states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s recent attempt to exert federal control over mail-in ballots and voter rolls.
“An executive order isn’t a royal decree,” Kaul said in a statement. “The President can’t unilaterally dictate how states should run elections.”
Trump’s order requires the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to coordinate with the Social Security Administration to create lists of voting-age U.S. citizens who are residents of each state and transmit them to state voting officials at least 60 days before an election.
The U.S. Postal Service would then oversee mail-in ballots, with the order directing the agency to develop rules establishing “uniform standards” for the ballots and preventing it from transmitting ballots of people who are not approved. The Postal Service would provide each state with a list of voters who are “enrolled” with the agency.
White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf said the Postal Service would “verify that ballots … are being sent to people who are eligible to vote, and then the ballots being returned are being properly returned by eligible voters only.”
In the lawsuit, the states argue the U.S. Constitution grants states the primary authority to administer elections and does not allow the president to impose changes without congressional approval.
The lawsuit also argues the president’s order would require states to overhaul their existing procedures for election administration and educate voters on the changes “at a dangerously quick pace” ahead of the November midterm elections.
“The coalition argues that such drastic and rapid changes will undoubtedly create confusion, chaos, and distrust in state election systems, all while threatening to disenfranchise eligible voters,” according to a release.
Kaul’s action comes days after Gov. Tony Evers signaled that Wisconsin would sue over the orders.
“This is bullshit. And it’s illegal,” Evers posted on X shortly after Trump signed the order. “We’ll see President Trump in court.”
Trump has focused on voting legislation in the run-up to the November midterm elections, urging Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote. The legislation has stalled amid strong pushback from opponents.
Trump has falsely claimed that the 2020 election, which he lost to former President Joe Biden, was stolen, and he regularly targets vote-by-mail as rife with fraud. He said March 31 that “the cheating on mail-in voting is legendary.”
Trump cast his ballot by mail in a special election on March 24 in Florida.
USA TODAY contributed reporting.
Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kaul joins suit challenging Trump on mail-in ballots, voter rolls
Reporting by Jessie Opoien, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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