State of California v. Trump

On May 15, 2025, Public Rights Project filed an amicus brief in the District of Massachusetts in State of California v. Trump on behalf of local elections officials in 30 jurisdictions. PRP filed the brief against a new executive order that would disenfranchise voters and cause significant disruptions to local election administration.

Our brief supports the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction against Executive Order No. 14248, titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.” The executive order seeks to drastically and unlawfully change how voter registration and election administration work nationwide. The plaintiffs are states that argue that the order is unconstitutional, violates federal statutes, and undermines election administration.

The order places a burden on local election officials when it comes to the practical administration, budgeting, staffing, and scheduling of elections. For example, the order changes two federal voter registration forms to require that people provide documentary proof of citizenship in order to vote. These changes are completely impractical and make it more difficult to register voters. The amicus brief also explains the order’s attempt to override state law governing ballot receipt deadlines is logistically impossible and ignores the real budgetary, staff, and time constraints local election officials already face.

Local election officials are under-staffed, over-worked, and under increasing public pressure. The unlawful executive order only makes these problems worse.

Update:

On Dec. 19, 2025, Public Rights Project filed an amicus brief supporting the plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment, which asks the court to rule in its favor before trial.

The case relates to Executive Order No. 14248, titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” which attempts to change how voter registration and election administration work nationwide by imposing documentary proof of citizenship requirements on voter registration and overriding state mail-in ballot deadlines. We argue that the challenged provisions of the executive order would restrict voting rights and cause significant disruptions to local election administration, and that the administration may not unilaterally make such changes.

We are asking the court to declare the executive order invalid, prohibiting the federal government from enforcing its requirements.

Read the amicus brief.

Update:
On Jan. 12, 2026, Public Rights Project filed an amicus brief in the First Circuit – on behalf of 41 local election officials and local governments —  challenging efforts by the federal government to restrict voting rights and disrupt election administration. 

The brief opposes portions of a March 2025 executive order that requires documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote and prohibits states from counting mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day. The order also directed states to stop accepting and counting mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, despite state laws that require this practice.

A federal court temporarily blocked the order by issuing a preliminary injunction, but the Department of Justice appealed on behalf of the administration. Our brief — the third we’ve filed in this case — explains that the preliminary injunction is in the public interest because if implemented, the policies outlined in the executive order would disenfranchise eligible voters, burden election officials with new recordkeeping and data security requirements, and create confusion about ballot deadlines.

Read the amicus brief.