Nevada officials praise federal judge's blocking of Trump elections executive order

A federal judge on Wednesday permanently barred President Donald Trump's administration from implementing most of his first executive order on elections, part of which sought to require people to show documentary proof of citizenship when they register to vote.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper in Boston effectively converts a preliminary injunction she issued a year ago, in which she temporarily blocked many of Trump's efforts to overhaul elections, into a permanent ban.

In Nevada, people must affirm that they are a U.S. citizen while applying to register to vote. Providing false information is a felony and subject to a fine up to $20,000.

Casper rejected the Republican administration's argument that the lawsuit to block the changes brought by Democratic state attorneys general was premature because the rules had yet to be put in place. Instead, she agreed that the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to regulate elections, and that Trump's requirements violated the separation of powers.

The Constitution "does not grant the President any specific powers over elections," wrote Casper.

In a statement Wednesday, Attorney General Aaron Ford (D), whose office co-led the lawsuit alongside California, said the ruling "is a victory for the Constitution, the rule of law and the states' authority to administer their own elections."

Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar (D), the state's top elections official, said the decision "reinforces that elections should be run at the local level, and at its core this case is about protecting access for eligible voters."

Among other proposed changes, Trump's order 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.

Nevada allows mail ballots to be counted up to four days after Election Day as long as they are postmarked by then. It also allows ballots with no postmark received up to three days after Election Day to be counted.

However, the U.S. Supreme Court is due to issue an opinion soon on whether mail ballots must arrive by Election Day. That could immediately change the rules in 14 states including Nevada that allow grace periods ranging from days to weeks if the ballots are postmarked by Election Day.

Nevada also appears on its way to require voter ID after a ballot measure passed easily in 2024. It needs to pass again in November for it to take effect in 2028.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose state was the lead plaintiff in the case, said the ruling reaffirmed the constitutional principle that it's up to the states and Congress to set election rules.

"While we are proud of this result, we are clear-eyed that President Trump's attacks on voting rights and our elections show no signs of slowing down," Bonta, a Democrat, said in a statement. "So let me be clear: We will keep fighting back every step of the way."

Requests for comment sent to the White House and the U.S. Department of Justice were not immediately returned.

The ruling was the latest in a series against the elections executive order Trump signed just months after taking office for his second term. The Republican president has since signed another executive order on elections that seeks to create a national voter list and limit mail balloting. That directive also faces multiple legal challenges.

Last fall, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., overseeing a separate challenge to the first election executive order by civil rights and Democratic Party-aligned groups blocked the government from taking steps to include the proof-of-citizenship requirement on the federal voter registration form. That judge later barred Trump's defense secretary from requiring documentary proof of citizenship when military personnel register to vote or request ballots.

In an apparent nod to the difficulty of implementing a proof-of-citizen requirement by executive order, Trump is pushing legislation in the Republican-controlled Congress to create such a mandate. The SAVE America Act has passed the House but has stalled in the Senate, leading Trump to advocate for eliminating the filibuster that is blocking the legislation.

On Wednesday, he abruptly canceled the expected signing of a bipartisan housing bill, saying he would not sign legislation until Congress passes his proof of citizenship requirement for voting.

The president and many of his Republican allies have been promoting the narrative that voting by noncitizens is a major problem, when in fact it's quite rare. The federal voter registration form already requires people to attest that they are U.S. citizens. Violating that is punishable as a felony that can lead to prison or deportation.

Casper, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, is the chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Updated on 6/24/26 at 3:40 p.m. to add that Nevada co-led the lawsuit against the executive order.