Attorney General Aaron M. Frey today joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against President Trump, US Attorney General Pam Bundi, the Election Assistance Commission and other Trump Administation officials over the Elections Executive Order, an unconstitutionl, anti-democratic and un-Amerian attempt to impose sweeping voting restrictions across the country.
Among other things, the Elections Executive Order attempts to conscript State election officials in the President’s campaign to impose documentary proof of citizenship requirements when Americans seek to register to vote. It also seeks to upend comon-sense, well-established State procedures for counting ballots ——- procedures that make it easier for peoples’ voices to be heard.
The President has no constitutional power to rewrite State election laws by decree, nor does the President have the authority to modify the rules Congress has created for elections. The coalition’s lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, explains that the power to regulate elections is reserved to the States and Congress, and that therefore, the Election EO is ultra vires, beyond the scope of presidential power and violative of the separation of powers. The Attorneys Genereal ask the court to block the challenged provisions of the Election EO and declare them unconstitutional and void.
“The right to vote is a cornerstone of our free society and the President is acting without any authority by trying to dictate election law,” said Attorney General Frey. “If the President and his administration have their way, Mainers will have a harder time casting their ballots.”
“I’m proud that Attorney General Frey has joined this lawsuit against this unconstitutional Executive Order which only serves to disinfranchise voters and cause unnecessary fear regarding the security of our free and fair election” said Secretary of State Shenna Bellows in a statement released this afternoon. “The Executive Order is unconstitutional and illegal and the policies in the Order would make it harder for Americans to vote. I applaud AG Frey for standing up for the integrity of Maine elections, which are a model for the rest of the nation.”
For more background information of Secretary of State Bellows’ statement on the Executive Order of Trump, please visit post herein dated March 28 2025.