DSCC v. Trump

Public Rights Project filed an amicus brief urging an appeals court to stop an election-related executive order from remaining in effect. Washington Litigation Group served as co-counsel, and the brief was filed in partnership with Center for Election Innovation and Research.

The executive order unlawfully expands the federal government’s role in election administration by:

• Directing the United States Postal Service to create pre-approved lists of voters eligible to receive mail ballots
• Dictating that the Secretary of Homeland Security provide states with lists of individuals it deems to be citizens
• Prioritizing federal criminal prosecution of election officials who provide ballots to people the federal government considers ineligible to vote

Additionally, the government’s proposed verification process relies on databases known to have inaccurate citizenship data, possibly disenfranchising eligible voters. Our brief explains that if the executive order stays in effect, election officials will be forced to:

• Implement unlawful and confusing processes with primaries already underway
• Reconcile voting rolls against an unverified federally-mandated state citizenship list
• Risk criminal prosecution if ballots are sent to people not on the federal government’s list
• Incur significant costs to redesign and reprint ballot envelopes with barcodes

The executive order ultimately threatens every voter’s right to a free and fair election and forces local election officials into an impossible position: comply with unlawful federal demands or protect eligible voters from having their rights stripped away.

Read the amicus brief here.

Update:

On July 28, 2026, the appeals court in the D.C. Circuit upheld the district court’s decision not to block the executive order. The court said it was too soon to rule because federal agencies haven’t implemented the order yet.

In a related case, California v. Trump, brought by 23 states and the District of Columbia, a court blocked the executive order in those states, and the appeals court in the First Circuit has allowed the injunction to take effect. The federal government has appealed that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Read the decision.