A federal judge has stopped some government groups from asking about citizenship when giving out voter sign-up forms. This is another challenge to an order President Trump made last year about elections.
Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said the Constitution says that states and Congress have the main power to decide election rules.
The judge, who was chosen by former President Bill Clinton, wrote that the President can’t just change how federal elections work on his own.
Specifically, the judge said that two parts of Trump’s order can’t be used. These parts were about showing proof of citizenship.
The judge’s decision means that groups can’t ask people about their citizenship before giving them a voter sign-up form when they are signing up for public help. Also, the Secretary of Defense can’t make military people show proof of citizenship when they sign up to vote or ask for ballots.
The White House said that Trump’s order was to make sure elections are secure. They also said that this court decision is not the end of the matter.
A White House spokeswoman, Abigail Jackson, said that everyone should agree that only citizens should vote. She said the government will keep fighting for this.
During the 2024 campaign, Trump and Republicans talked a lot about how non-citizens might vote and affect elections. Some Republicans in Congress are still trying to pass laws that would require people to prove they are citizens to sign up to vote. However, studies have shown that it is rare for non-citizens to vote.
This is just one of several problems for the president’s order, which has been challenged in court many times.
