A federal judge on June 24 permanently barred the Trump administration from implementing key provisions of a March 2025 executive order aimed at tightening federal election rules, including a directive requiring voters to provide documentation proving U.S. citizenship when they register to vote.
U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston issued the ruling, converting a preliminary injunction she granted in 2025 into a permanent bar on most of the challenged provisions. Casper ruled that the Constitution gives states primary authority over federal elections, subject to congressional oversight, and does not grant that power to the president.
“While the Constitution vests the President with ‘executive power’ and commands him to ‘take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,’ it does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,” she wrote.
BREAKING: Boston-based federal judge Denise Casper (Obama appointee) has just issued a sweeping order that bans the Trump administration from implementing most of its federal voter ID executive orders, including a proof of citizenship requirement. Judge Casper concluded the… pic.twitter.com/jAMqNhLol0
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 24, 2026
President Donald Trump’s executive order had directed federal agencies to add stricter citizenship verification requirements to the federal voter registration form. It also instructed the attorney general to take action against states that count mail-in ballots received after Election Day.
Nineteen Democratic-led states challenged the order, arguing that Trump exceeded his constitutional authority. Casper rejected the Trump administration’s argument that the challenge was premature because the rules had yet to be implemented.
The ruling comes as Trump continues to call on Republicans in Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, which mirrors the executive order. The bill passed the House but has stalled in the Senate.
Earlier June 24, Trump canceled a planned signing ceremony for a separate bipartisan housing bill, saying he would not move forward until the Senate passed the SAVE America Act.
>> Trump cancels housing bill signing until Senate passes SAVE America Act <<
On March 31, Trump signed a separate executive order directing the federal government to create a verified citizen voter list. The order also sought to require the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to deliver mail-in ballots only to voters included on that list, as Zeale News previously reported. The directive faces multiple legal challenges.
On June 24, Postmaster General David Steiner defended a related USPS proposal that would bar the agency from delivering mail-in ballots unless states first provide voter names and ballot barcode data to the federal government.
The Supreme Court is also expected to rule soon in a separate voting case, Watson v. Republican National Committee, on whether states may count mail ballots that are postmarked by Election Day but received afterward. AP News reported that a ruling against late-arriving ballots could change the rules in 14 states that allow grace periods after Election Day.