23 states sue Trump over executive order giving DHS control over mail ballot eligibility

Officials from 23 Democratic states and the District of Columbia file a lawsuit seeking to block President Trump's executive order that aims to restrict mail voting. The lawsuit, led by California, is filed in federal court in Massachusetts. The lawsuit asserts that neither the Constitution nor any federal law gives the president the power to mandate widespread changes to states' election procedures. The executive order directs the Department of Homeland Security to compile "State Citizenship Lists" of U.S. citizens eligible to vote in federal elections and requires the U.S. Postal Service to send mail or absentee ballots only to voters on each state's list. The states warn that the president's order "violates bedrock principles of federalism and separation of powers" and "transgress Plaintiff States' constitutional power to prescribe the time, place, and manner of federal elections." The Constitution's Elections Clause gives states the power to set the "times, places and manner" of federal elections.