Judge Blocks Key Parts of Trump Election Order but Leaves Funding Conditions for July Decision

U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper struck down major sections of President Donald Trump's March 25, 2025 executive order on elections, ruling that they exceeded presidential authority and violated the Constitution's separation of powers.

The order, titled "Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections," sought to require documentary proof of citizenship on federal voter registration forms, alter rules for military and overseas voters, and allow withholding of federal funding from states that did not adopt certain deadlines, including a ban on counting ballots received after Election Day.

Casper found these provisions conflicted with the National Voter Registration Act and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.

District Court for the District of Massachusetts. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the ruling reaffirmed that authority over elections rests with the states and Congress. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller responded on social media that he hoped Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts understood the path set by lower-court judges.

The parties have until July 10 to decide whether to continue litigating the funding conditions issue. On the same day as the ruling, President Donald Trump met with GOP senators on Capitol Hill. He criticized socialist candidates in the Democratic Party, discussed the Save America Act, and addressed concerns over the Iran nuclear deal, Fox News reported.