A federal judge barred the Trump administration from requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote on Wednesday, marking the latest loss for the president’s election policies in recent months.
U.S. District Judge Denise Casper, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, issued a permanent injunction blocking a March 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump, which required a person to present proof of citizenship to register to vote. She sided with the coalition of Democrat-led states that sued over the order, claiming the states, rather than the president, have the power to control election procedures.
“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,” wrote Casper, who serves on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Casper previously issued a preliminary injunction in June 2025, when she explained that the issue of the case was not with whether citizenship is required to vote in federal elections, but rather whether the president can mandate changes to voting rules to require voters to show proof of citizenship. In both her rulings, in 2025 and on Wednesday, Casper found that the president could not create election rules, such as presenting proof of citizenship for registration.
Casper is the third federal judge who has blocked the Trump executive order, alongside judges in Washington, D.C., and Washington state. Trump also suffered a key court loss earlier this week when a federal judge blocked his administration from implementing a voter verification system that would combine Social Security information with citizenship records.
As the president’s court losses on election-related executive orders have mounted, he has attempted to push the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act, which includes a slate of voting rules, including proof of citizenship to register to vote. The legislation has stalled in the upper chamber of Congress due to the threat of a filibuster. Trump’s latest push came on Wednesday, when he canceled a signing ceremony for a major bipartisan housing bill at the last minute and urged the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act.
THE MAJOR SUPREME COURT DECISIONS REMAINING FOR THIS TERM
While the SAVE America Act continues to stall in Congress, the Supreme Court could hand Trump and GOP allies a key win in the coming days on election integrity with a ruling in Watson v. RNC. This ruling will determine if laws allowing mail-in ballots to be counted weeks after Election Day, as long as they are postmarked by Election Day, are lawful.
During oral arguments earlier this year, the high court appeared skeptical over the Mississippi law at the center of the dispute. The Supreme Court could issue a ruling in the case as soon as Thursday.