Federal Judge Blocks Trump’s Election Funding Threats
A federal judge has stepped in to halt the Trump administration’s attempts to withhold federal election funding from states that refuse to adjust their voter registration forms or voting processes to align with President Donald Trump’s preferences.
In a ruling issued on Friday, U.S. District Judge John Chun determined that Trump’s threats to withdraw Election Assistance Commission funds represented an unconstitutional exertion of pressure on states, despite the fact that the president, by design, lacks formal authority over how states conduct their elections.
“The President has no authority to unilaterally impose new conditions on federal funds,” Chun stated in a 75-page ruling.
Chun, appointed by Biden and based in Seattle, is now the third federal judge to invalidate significant portions of Trump’s Executive Order from March 25, which sought to compel states to modify their election procedures. Earlier, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, an Obama appointee from Washington, D.C., had blocked elements of the order that aimed to enforce new voter proof-of-citizenship standards and related enforcement mechanisms. Moreover, U.S. District Judge Denise Casper, also an Obama appointee from Massachusetts, had in June invalidated provisions that sought to penalize states for counting ballots received after Election Day.
The Trump administration has responded by appealing Kollar-Kotelly’s and Casper’s rulings, with both appeals currently pending.
A White House spokesperson did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
All three judges reached the conclusion that Trump overstepped his authority in attempting to mandate changes to state election procedures. The U.S. Constitution grants exclusive control of the “time, place and manner” of elections to states and Congress, a deliberate choice made to keep presidential influence at bay over the processes governing elections. While the federal government does have a role in funding state election systems and enforcing laws designed to uphold election integrity, it does not infringe on the authority of lawmakers to determine their own electoral procedures.
Trump has frequently made unfounded allegations of widespread fraud and cheating in predominantly blue states, sentiments primarily stemming from his loss in the 2020 election. These claims have formed part of his efforts to pressure states into changing their electoral processes.
Chun’s ruling is notable for addressing Trump’s insistence on the Election Assistance Commission updating voting system standards in specific ways, coupled with threats of funding cuts for states that opt not to comply. Additionally, it prohibits any actions that could jeopardize funding for states that do not require “documentary proof of citizenship” on federal voter registration forms.
“The Constitution assigns no authority to the President over federal election administration,” Chun concluded.
