Maine on Friday joined more than 20 states in a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its attempt to oversee voter eligibility and voting by mail.
The executive order, signed by President Donald Trump on Tuesday, seeks to establish a national voter registry and would limit voting by mail to people pre-authorized by the federal government.
The order says “unique ballot envelope identifiers, such as bar codes, enable confirmation that only citizens receive and cast ballots, reducing the risk of fraud and protecting the integrity of Federal elections.”
In the lawsuit, filed in Massachusetts, the coalition of states argues that the order is unlawful and “attempts to interfere with states’ constitutional authority,” Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said in a statement.
The lawsuit seeks to block the federal government from implementing the executive order.
In addition to Maine, plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Massachusetts, Nevada, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin, and the governor of Pennsylvania.
