Yet again, the far-left Democratic Party has run to federal court to stop one of President Donald Trump’s executive orders. This time, they want to block Trump from stopping vote fraud and noncitizens from voting in federal elections.
The list of plaintiffs span the top tier of Democratic political groups and includes U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
Their claim: Trump’s executive order — Preserving And Protecting The Integrity Of American Elections — and the officials who enforce it are trespassing the separation of powers and violating the Administrative Procedures Act.
One of plaintiffs’ main concerns is Trump’s mandate that voters provide proof of citizenship. That, of course, will block illegal-aliens — including the millions who have Social Security numbers and already vote — from casting votes. That would be a major blow to Democratic Party candidates.
The Order
Trump’s order of March 25 requires the enforcement of federal election laws that define the date and time of elections, when ballots are to be counted, and notably, requires that only U.S. citizens be permitted to vote in federal elections. Proof of citizenship will be required to vote.
The order also requires a paper record for votes and forbids voting by barcode only. It also withholds federal funding from states that refuse to comply with federal statutes that regulate voting.
Perhaps the most important codicil of the order is that it requires proof of citizenship. The reason: As The New American reported on March 31, the Department of Government Efficiency has found at least 2.1 million illegals enrolled in Social Security, and 5.5 million across all benefits programs. Worse still, many voted.
Citing 18 U.S. Code 1015 and 611, which penalizes false statements of citizenship and voting by aliens, Trump’s order avers that states “fail adequately to vet voters’ citizenship.” As well, the Department of Justice does not enforce those laws. “Even worse, the prior administration actively prevented States from removing aliens from their voter lists,” the order says.
Henceforth, to stop foreign nationals from voting, the national mail voter registration form will require “documentary proof of United States citizenship, consistent with 52 U.S.C. 20508(b)(3),” the order says. As well, state and local officials must record any documents the voter applicant uses to prove citizenship.
Proofs of citizenship include a U.S. passport, a REAL identification card, a military ID card that shows U.S. citizenship, or a valid federal or state ID that proves citizenship.
That alone had Democrats in a tizzy. But so also did other parts of the order.
The Lawsuit
The 74-page, 11-count complaint alleges myriad violations of separation of powers and the Administrative Procedure Act.
Count 1 says the president “dramatically exceeds his highly limited constitutional and statutory authority when it comes to regulating elections. His Order identifies no source of legal Authority — and none exists.”
Counts 2 through 4 allege violations of the separations of powers on three grounds:
- Unlawful Intrusion Upon Congressional Authority;
- Unlawful Intrusion Upon State Authority;
- Usurpation of Congress’s Spending Powers
The remaining counts allege violations of the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies make rules and regulations.
Those first allegations under APA attack Trump’s ordering all votes to be received and counted on Election Day. But most of the rest show the true purpose of the lawsuit: to permit illegal aliens to vote.
The second and third allegations grapple with Trump’s mandating proof of citizenship, which would stop voting by illegal aliens — the “people we care about most,” as a top Democrat said.
Another APA allegation claims that carrying out the order would be “action contrary to the Fifth Amendment” because it requires state officials to check the citizenship of welfare recipients before permitting them register to vote in federal elections.
The fifth APA allegation says the order trespasses the privacy act because it requires the Department of Homeland Security to provide states with access to immigration data, which again, involves questions of citizenship.
The sixth APA allegation also deals with citizenship. It says agencies that enforce the order would violate the First and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution because, among other reasons, “nearly 9 percent of American citizens of voting age — lack access to documentation necessary to prove citizenship.”
Proving citizenship for those putative voters is an “excessive burden,” the lawsuit alleges.
Last as APA goes, “contrary to the Help America Vote Act,” the order requires that states follow the order or face losing federal funds, among other so-called unconstitutional acts.
The APA allegations claim the order is “arbitrary and capricious.”
Democrat Octopus Involved
Permitting illegals to vote is a key priority for Democrats given the effort the Biden administration put into importing millions by encouraging them to land at the southwest border, then releasing them into the country.
And those don’t count the 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans Biden flew into the country then “paroled.”
Thus did the many arms of the far-left Democtopus join the lawsuit: Again, Schumer and Jeffries, along with the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Governors Association, and the Democratic Senate and Congressional committees.
A far-left open-borders coalition of the Secure Families Initiative, the Arizona Students Association, and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) sued as well.
That 52-page complaint is similar in its allegations to the Democratic lawsuit. LULAC avers that the order is illegal because, among other things, “members who are eligible to vote often do not have the requisite citizenship documents.”
If true, maybe they should get some.
