Ethics Complaint

 LDAD Files Amicus Brief Opposing Executive Order

June 28, 2021

Editorial credit: Shutterstock

Lawyers Defending American Democracy has filed an amicus brief in an important case challenging a presidential Executive Order that would unconstitutionally restrict the number of citizens who could register to vote in federal elections.

Through the National Voter Registration Act, Congress had sought to increase voter registration and encourage more citizens to vote in federal elections. The Act directed the Election Assistance Commission to create a uniform federal registration form, enabling citizens to prove their citizenship without a need to provide documentary evidence.

President Trump’s Executive Order, however, directs the Election Assistance Commission to amend the registration form to require applicants to submit documentary proof of citizenship. This Executive Order violates the Constitution’s foundational principle of separation of powers, as only Congress - not the President - has authority to regulate federal elections. The Executive Order also frustrates Congress’s purpose in passing the National Voter Registration Act and violates one of the country’s most fundamental rights: the right to vote.

Nonpartisan Plaintiffs, including the League of Latin American Citizens and the League of Women Voters, sued to enjoin enforcement of the documentary evidence requirement throughout the country. The federal district court granted a preliminary injunction, and the nonpartisan plaintiffs filed a summary judgment motion asking that the preliminary injunction be made permanent.

Seeking this relief follows the recent ruling in Trump v. CASA, Inc. in which the Supreme Court held that the federal courts only have equitable power to issue injunctions that give “complete relief to the plaintiffs” and may not issue “universal” injunctions.  

LDAD’s brief presents multiple arguments as to why the injunction to prevent enforcement of the Executive Order nationwide is necessary to provide “complete relief” to the plaintiff organizations and their hundreds of thousands of members around the country, thereby distinguishing the relief in this case from the universal injunction involved in the CASA case.

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