Judge shuts down Trump's attempt to impose new citizenship requirements on voters

A federal judge on Friday dealt a major blow to President Donald Trump by permanently blocking his executive order that sought to impose new citizenship requirements on voters.

In a 110-page ruling, the court permanently enjoined Trump’s order claiming to mandate proof of U.S. citizenship for people registering to vote or applying for absentee ballots, Politico’s Kyle Cheney reported.

“Put simply, our Constitution does not allow the President to impose unilateral changes to federal election procedures,” U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote in her Friday ruling.

In rejecting Trump’s executive order, the judge found that its key provisions “are inconsistent with the constitutional separation of powers and cannot lawfully be implemented.”

“These consolidated cases are about the limits of the President’s power to dictate the rules of federal elections,” she wrote. The decision permanently bars federal agencies from enforcing the challenged provisions.

In addition to Trump, the Executive Office of the President, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, and several cabinet departments and agency heads were named as defendants in the lawsuit.