US judge bars Trump's requirement for citizenship proof to vote

A US federal judge on Wednesday permanently blocked President Donald Trump's administration from implementing most of his first executive order on elections, including a provision that requires voters to present documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

The ruling by US District Court Judge Denise Casper in Boston converted a preliminary injunction issued in 2025, which temporarily blocked many of Trump's efforts to overhaul elections, into a permanent ban.

Casper rejected the Trump administration's claim that the lawsuit filed by attorneys general in 19 states was premature because the rules had not yet been put in force.

The judge agreed that the requirement exceeded Trump's presidential authority under the Constitution and the National Voter Registration Act, a 1993 law that establishes voter registration procedures. The Constitution "does not grant the President any specific powers over elections," she wrote.

In a statement, Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said the administration can appeal Wednesday's ruling if it chooses, US media reported.

The executive order Trump signed on March 25, 2025, would have required people to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote, prevented mail ballots from being counted if they arrive after Election Day, even if they were postmarked by then, and punished states that failed to comply by withholding certain federal money.

On March 31, 2025, Trump signed another executive order to create a nationwide list of verified eligible voters and to restrict mail-in voting, which is also facing legal challenges.

On October 31, 2025, a US federal court permanently barred the US Election Assistance Commission from enforcing the provision that would have required documentary proof of citizenship for the National Mail Voter Registration in Trump's executive order. A later ruling barred the US Secretary of Defense from requiring documentary proof of citizenship when military personnel register to vote or request ballots.

Trump is now pushing legislation in the Senate to create such a mandate through the SAVE America Act, which passed the House in February 2026. Trump has canceled the expected signing of a bipartisan housing bill on Wednesday, saying he would not sign legislation until Congress passes his proof-of-citizenship requirement for voting.

Around 9.1% of American citizens of voting age, or 21.3 million people, lack ready access to a document proving citizenship, such as a US birth certificate, US passport, naturalization certificate, or citizenship certificate, according to a 2024 study led by the Brennan Center for Justice.

A study by the Center for American Progress, published in January 2025, showed that only about half of Americans have a passport. And the processing time for an online birth certificate can take anywhere from a few days to 12 weeks.