2 weeks Ago
SEATTLE — Washington and Oregon filed a joint lawsuit Friday against the Trump administration over the president's "illegal executive order attacking elections and voting rights." In a press conference from Seattle, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said the executive order unlawfully interferes with the state's ability to run elections . "The president's illegal executive order violates multiple parts of the Constitution and federal statutes, and the order makes it harder to vote, erodes public confidence in our elections, and makes it more expensive for states to administer our systems.
And most alarming, it would disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Washington residents," Brown said Friday. Brown added that the order is "so poorly drafted" that any state, including Washington, could have its voting system decertified by the federal government. Oregon state Attorney General Dan Rayfield called the executive order a "blatant attempt to rig the system and suppress votes.
" "It’s a direct assault on the Constitution and a brazen attempt to act like a king, dictating how states should run their elections. No president, no matter how hungry, gets to strip away our right to run our own voting system in Oregon or any other state," he said. Trump’s executive order includes provisions requiring ballots to be received by Election Day — even in states like Washington and Oregon that currently accept ballots postmarked by that date.
It also imposes proof-of-citizenship requirements that the Brennan Center for Justice estimates could disenfranchise about 9% of eligible voters, according to the release. "There have been a lot of objections to actions by President Trump, brought by states attorneys generals, unions, nonprofit groups and individuals, but it is hard to imagine a subject where this president has less credibility than he does with elections," Brown said Friday. "When the president loses elections, he creates conspiracy theories to explain his loss.
He tears down anyone who dares to object to his evidence-free attacks. He has consistently bullied election workers, pressured election officials, and is always looking to undermine faith in our democracy." Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read said Oregon residents have the right to hold politicians accountable, and it's the state's responsibility to defend that right and hold secure and fair elections.
"The Trump Administration does not have the power to take away Oregonians’ rights to vote and the funding we need to run secure elections. This Executive Order is nonsense. It’s illegal.
And, it will not stand," Read said..
