The Case for D.C. Statehood

Boston, MA – A coalition of voting rights organizations filed a lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts challenging President Trump's March 31 executive order concerning mail-in voting. The Constitution explicitly states that only Congress and the states can set the rules for elections. Nevertheless, the order attempts to displace states’ mail-in voting laws by transforming the U.S. Postal Service from a neutral mail carrier to an arbiter of who may cast a ballot by mail. The order also requires the Department of Homeland Security to build and give to each state a list of citizens eligible to vote. Given that federal databases are out-of-date and unreliable, this risks mass disenfranchisement of eligible voters. The suit was filed by the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, the League of Women Voters, Association of Americans Resident Overseas (AARO), U.S. Vote Foundation, OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates (OCA), and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. They are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), ACLU of Massachusetts, Brennan Center for Justice, Legal Defense Fund (LDF), Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), and LatinoJustice PRLDEF. The plaintiffs and their counsel released the following statement: "This executive order is an illegal and dangerous attempt by the Trump administration to eliminate accessible voting options and subvert our democracy by seizing control of election administration from the states and Congress. If implemented, it would disenfranchise eligible voters across the nation. “Attempts to end voting by mail are part of the Trump administration’s larger strategy to undermine elections and subvert the will of the people. The U.S. Constitution is clear: the states and Congress — not the president — set the rules for our elections. President Trump tried to make an end-run around the Constitution with another executive order last year and was promptly rebuffed by multiple courts. History will repeat itself. “This executive order would upend countless state laws and procedures regarding mail-in voting. It could deny eligible voters, including voters with disabilities, U.S. citizens living abroad, and military members and their family members, the right to vote by mail — and unknown numbers will be disenfranchised without that option. Far from improving elections, this executive order would create chaos for election officials, erode public confidence in our elections, and block Americans from exercising their most fundamental right and responsibility as citizens — voting. By taking the administration to court, we are standing up for the rule of law and the promise of our democracy.” A copy of the lawsuit can be found online here: https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2026/04/LWV-v-Trump.pdf

On March 31, 2026, President Trump issued a sweeping Executive Order titled "Ensuring Citizen Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections," seeking once again to seize control of election administration from Congress and the states. The Order directs federal agencies to compile lists of U.S. citizens and transmit them to states before every election, directs the U.S. Postal Service -- an independent agency established by Congress -- to create a list of "approved" mail voters, and instructs USPS to refuse to deliver ballots from voters not on that federally created list. If implemented, the Order would threaten the ability of millions of eligible citizens to cast their ballots, particularly military members, overseas citizens, the elderly, recently naturalized citizens, and voters with disabilities who rely on mail voting.

Florida passed a new law conditioning a citizen’s ability to register to vote, to update their voter registration, and to remain on the voter registration rolls on the production of specified forms of documentary proof of citizenship (“DPOC”). Thousands of Florida citizens do not have ready access to these documents, especially some of the state’s most vulnerable voters.

MIAMI — Voting rights advocates filed a federal lawsuit today challenging Florida House Bill 991, a new law requiring documentary proof of citizenship, warning that the measure will disenfranchise eligible voters and create unnecessary barriers to the freedom to vote. The law requires prospective voters to have “evidence of citizenship” on file, such as a passport or birth certificate to register to vote or remain on the voter rolls. Thousands of Floridians don’t have ready access to these documents. The lawsuit, filed by the League of Women Voters of Florida, Florida Immigrant Coalition, Florida Rising, Common Cause, Hispanic Federation and UnidosUS seeks to block enforcement of the law before it goes into effect in 2027. Plaintiffs are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Florida, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and Advancement Project. Plaintiffs argue that Florida’s additional documentation requirement will make it significantly harder for eligible voters — especially naturalized citizens, low-income voters, married women who’ve changed their name, voters of color, students, voters with disabilities, transgender people, and seniors — to register and participate in elections. The complaint argues that the requirement violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution by imposing unlawful burdens on the fundamental right to vote, including restrictive voter registration requirements. Unlike some other documentary proof-of-citizenship laws, this one applies retroactively to currently registered voters, making it even likelier that eligible voters will be both wrongly prevented from registering and/or erroneously removed from the rolls. Courts have repeatedly found that documentary proof-of-citizenship requirements disenfranchise eligible voters while doing little to address the virtually nonexistent problem of non-citizen voting. In 2016, Kansas enacted a similar law, which blocked more than 35,000 Kansans from registering to vote. It was struck down in 2018 for violating the National Voter Registration Act and the U.S. Constitution. Plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the law unlawful and block Florida officials from enforcing the documentary proof-of-citizenship requirement. “Florida voters already confirm their citizenship when they register to vote. Instead of securing elections, HB 991 causes eligible voters to be disenfranchised,” said Jessica Lowe-Minor, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida. “Despite strong opposition from our state’s voting rights coalition, the Governor signed a bill tying the right to vote to the possession of costly documents that many U.S. citizens don’t have easy access to. No eligible Floridian should be pushed out of the voter rolls simply because of red tape." “New barriers to voting too often fall hardest on the communities that have long fought to be heard in our democracy,” said Caren Short, director of legal and research at the League of Women Voters of the United States. “Sadly, but unsurprisingly, Florida’s new documentary proof of citizenship law requirement is based on xenophobic lies and disinformation. The legislature’s failure to look out for constituents instead of legislators' own political interests will harm married women, naturalized citizens, young people, and many other eligible voters who do not have ready access to documents like passports or birth certificates. The League of Women Voters is committed to defending a democracy where every eligible voter has a fair opportunity to make their voice heard.” "We are taking a stand against H.B. 991," said Tessa Petit, Executive Director of Florida Immigrant Coalition. "This bill, under false pretenses, creates roadblocks meant to hinder our ability to vote, and silences the voices of Black and brown communities, naturalized citizens, young people, and low-income voters. Our right to vote and determine our future is the very essence of what makes us United States citizens. Our communities are ready to fight back and to protect the rights of voters in Florida." “If this law stands, thousands of U.S. citizens will be removed from Florida's voter rolls, blocking them from voting in the next Presidential election if they can't afford specific documents,” said Amy Keith, Common Cause Florida Executive Director. “Life is getting increasingly harder and more expensive in Florida, but with this bill legislators are purging the very voters who are suffering most from Florida’s affordability crisis. I don't think that's a coincidence.” “Florida’s House Bill 991 silences the voices of voters and naturalized citizens who deserve to have a say in the policies that impact our communities. For decades, we fought to make sure all eligible voters have the ability to vote, and we will not allow false claims about election fraud to be used as a weapon against us. Millions of voters lack these costly documents, and requiring them will result in significant voter suppression. We stand with Floridians and will fight to ensure that unnecessary barriers do not block us from our fundamental right to vote,” said Frankie Miranda, President and CEO of Hispanic Federation. “Common Cause has engaged in lawsuits all over the United States to defend voters' access to the ballot box and we’re doing so again in Florida,” Maryam Jazini Dorcheh, Senior Director of Litigation at Common Cause. “This law makes it harder for eligible voters to vote plain and simple.” “Florida families are struggling with rising costs, but instead of addressing the affordability crisis, the controlling party in the state legislature spent last legislative session creating new barriers to the ballot box,” said UnidosUS Florida State Director Jared Nordlund. “They know their agenda is unpopular, and when they cannot win by persuading voters, they try to win by making it harder for people to vote. HB 991 is another solution in search of a problem, and Florida is once again the testing ground for a voter suppression playbook that could spread nationwide. These laws target the voices they fear most, especially women, communities of color, and working-class voters.” Legal groups representing the voting rights advocacy organizations added the following: “Florida’s new ‘show your papers’ law is a blatant attempt to add unnecessary barriers to the ballot box,” said Jonathan Topaz, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “This law targets Florida’s most vulnerable voters—older Black voters who grew up in the Jim Crow South, naturalized citizens, transgender people, low-income voters, voters with disabilities—all in service of perpetuating the fact-free myth of widespread non-citizen registration and voting. We bring this lawsuit to ensure that Florida cannot block its eligible voters from exercising their fundamental right to vote because of missing or mismatched paperwork.” “Florida has a long and troubling history of suppressing the right to vote by placing barriers between voters and the ballot box,” said Carrie McNamara, staff attorney at the ACLU of Florida. “Over the past several years, state leaders have systematically rewritten the rules of democracy – from restricting the citizen-led amendment process, to undermining community-based voter registration efforts; from sending formerly incarcerated citizens back to jail because they dared to vote, to delaying special elections and leaving thousands without representation. This anti-voter law is the latest entry in that playbook. It reflects a continued effort to create new barriers between eligible voters and the ballot box, making it harder for people to have their voices heard. Protecting the freedom to vote is fundamental to our democracy, and we will fight to defend it.” "Florida House Bill 991 is a sweeping attack on the ballot box, one that will hit Black, brown, low-income, and student voters the hardest. This is not about election integrity. It’s about who gets to hold onto power and who gets pushed out,” said Hani Mirza, Director of the Power and Democracy Program at Advancement Project. "The documentary proof of citizenship provisions in particular will disproportionately purge new citizens from the voter rolls, creating an insurmountable barrier for some of those voters. Advancement Project stands with communities of color in refusing to accept legislation that dismantles civic participation and strips away hard-won opportunities to build power.” “The approval of this Voter Purge Bill is a calculated attack on our democracy, " pointed out Moné Holder, Chief Advocacy & Political Officer at Florida Rising. “Instead of solving real problems, the Florida Legislature is manufacturing a crisis to justify mass disenfranchisement. This isn’t about election integrity; it’s about making it harder for millions of eligible Floridians to vote. This law creates a bureaucratic minefield for everyday people. By restricting student IDs and requiring costly documentation that many voters don’t have, the state is effectively putting a price tag on the right to vote. Name-match requirements could disproportionately impact married women and trans voters. We need legislation that protects, rather than targets, every eligible Floridian’s fundamental right to vote. We will not be intimidated, and we will not allow our communities to be erased from our democracy.” “Florida law already adequately verifies a voter's eligibility to vote, making this latest Florida voter suppression effort wholly unnecessary and unduly burdensome, said Cesar Ruiz, Associate Counsel, LatinoJustice PRLDEF. “Many voters simply do not have immediate access to the new mandatory identity documents that will be required to register to vote, and these burdens will fall especially hard on communities of color, Puerto Rican voters, women who changed their names after marriage, and others with complex documentation histories. Our democracy is strongest when every eligible voter can participate without facing needless barriers to exercising that fundamental right!” A copy of the complaint can be found here: https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2026/04/FL-DPOC-Complaint.pdf