Attorney General Ford Joins Secures Decision Blocking Trump’s Unlawful Elections Order

Carson City, NV — Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced the District Court for the District of Massachusetts has granted a preliminary injunction blocking unlawful provisions in President Donald Trump’s unprecedented elections executive order. In April, AG Ford co-led a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit challenging the president’s unlawful and unconstitutional executive order.

“Today’s court decision is a win for democracy and for state sovereignty,” said AG Ford. “The Trump administration’s unconstitutional and unlawful attempt to seize control of elections from the states is an attack on democracy and the right to vote. Our state’s elections are free, fair and safe, and I will fight back against any attempt to illegally interfere with our elections for political theater.”

In the lawsuit, AG Ford and the coalition point out that under the Elections Clause, Congress may preempt state elections law for federal contests, but the Constitution does not provide the President or the Executive Branch with any independent power to modify the States’ procedures for conducting federal elections.

The president’s order violates the Constitution; interferes with states’ inherent sovereignty and their constitutional power to regulate federal elections; and usurps Congress’s powers to legislate and to appropriate.

In the lawsuit, AG Ford is joined by co-lead Attorney General Rob Bonta, and the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.

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