Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is doubling down on a legal fight to keep the White House out of local ballot boxes.
On Monday, Nessel joined a massive coalition of 23 attorneys general and the Governor of Pennsylvania to file a motion for summary judgment, seeking a permanent court order to block President Trump’s recent executive order on federal elections.
The legal move targets Executive Order No. 14399, titled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.” The President’s order seeks to overhaul how mail-in voting works by requiring states to use federal pre-authorized lists to determine who is eligible to receive a ballot.
Under the order, the U.S. Postal Service would be prohibited from delivering mail-in ballots to any individual not appearing on those federal lists.
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Nessel and her counterparts argue this is a direct violation of the U.S. Constitution, which historically grants the power to run elections to individual states rather than the executive branch.
“The Constitution is clear: states run elections, not the White House,” Nessel stated. “While President Trump has tried to unilaterally usurp powers he simply does not legally possess, this coalition has intervened to ensure the administration follows the rule of law.”
The coalition’s filing asks a U.S. District Court in Massachusetts to bypass a full trial and rule immediately, arguing the law is settled.
The motion claims the executive order unconstitutionally coerces states into shrinking their voter rolls and forces the USPS to interfere with state-regulated election procedures. Beyond the legal theory, the states argue the order creates “fiscal injuries,” forcing local governments to scramble to implement expensive new federal mandates on short notice.
The Trump administration’s order also directs officials to investigate and prosecute election workers who issue ballots to people not on the federal eligibility lists—a move the coalition says puts state employees in immediate legal jeopardy for simply following existing state laws.
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Attorneys general from across the country, including those from Arizona, California, Illinois, and North Carolina, have signed onto the motion. They argue that if the order stands, it would cause irreparable harm to public trust and state sovereignty.
The Trump administration has until Thursday, May 7, 2026, to file its official response in court. A high-stakes hearing on the matter is currently scheduled for June 2, 2026, at 10 AM ET, where a judge will decide if the President’s attempt to tighten election security oversteps the bounds of his office.
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