AG Brown: WA, OR sue Trump to protect election integrity from presidential interference

Washington AG Nick Brown

From the office of Attorney General Nick Brown

SEATTLE — The States of Washington and Oregon today filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s illegal executive order attacking elections and voting rights.

Neither the Constitution nor any federal law gives the president the authority to set rules for how states conduct elections.

The states’ lawsuit says, this illegal executive order “harms States by purporting to override our sovereign laws governing the counting of votes and voter registration, imposing substantial costs on States to change state voting system and laws, and disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of State residents.”

The U.S. Constitution’s Elections Clause gives states the authority to run their own elections, with exceptions for actions by Congress. The executive order also violates the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act by unfairly making it harder to vote.

“We oppose requirements that suppress eligible voters and will continue to advocate for inclusive and equitable access to registration while protecting the integrity of the process.

"The U.S. Constitution guarantees that all qualified voters have a constitutionally protected right to vote and to have their votes counted,” said Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs. “

We will work with the Washington Attorney General's Office to defend our constitutional authority and ensure Washington's elections remain secure, fair, and accessible.”

“Washington state has a proud history of ensuring voting is both accessible and secure. This executive order undermines that progress by creating unnecessary barriers for voters. As chair of the Senate State Government & Elections Committee, I will continue fighting to protect and preserve our democracy,” said Senator Javier Valdez (LD 46).

The lawsuit seeks to declare most provisions of the order unconstitutional and prevent the federal government from implementing or enforcing them.

President Trump’s attacks on elections and voting are well-documented, though his evidence to support them is not. 

He blamed his 2020 election loss on widespread fraud that was proven to be false. An Associated Press analysis of the six battleground states former President Biden won in the 2020 election found a combined total of 475 potentially fraudulent votes, while Biden won those states by a combined 311,257 votes.

Trump has made similarly false claims about vote-by-mail, a practice originally championed by Washington Republicans like former Washington Secretary of State Ralph Munro. Washington and Oregon both use safe and secure vote-by-mail systems popular with voters because of how they improve access to democracy.

The order would require votes sent by mail to arrive no later than Election Day to be counted, even though 18 states, including Washington and Oregon, accept ballots postmarked on or before Election Day.

The order’s illegal and burdensome proof of citizenship requirements will disenfranchise voters. About 9 percent of U.S. citizens of voting age do not have such documents readily available, according to a 2023 report by the Brennan Center for Justice.