Michigan Attorney General Joins Multi-State Lawsuit Challenging Trump's Vote-by-Mail Executive Order

Michigan AG Nessel Sues Over Trump's Election Executive Order

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a coalition of 24 attorneys general and governors in suing the Trump administration over a March 31 executive order they say unlawfully interferes with states' authority to run elections and threatens access to mail-in voting.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, challenges an order signed by President Donald Trump that seeks to create a federal list of eligible voters and requires states to submit lists of voters slated to receive absentee ballots. Under the order, the U.S. Postal Service would be directed not to transmit ballots to voters not on that list.

The order also calls for the USPS to develop voter-specific barcodes to track ballots, and gives the agency four months — just before Michigan's Aug. 4 primary — to formalize rules, raising concerns the system could be in place before the November general election.

Nessel's Statement on Mail Voting

"Mail-in ballots are a safe and secure voting option that over 2.2 million Michiganders availed themselves to in the 2024 election," Nessel said in a news release, adding she would defend voters' access to absentee ballots approved by Michigan voters in 2018.

Nessel underscored the concerns raised by the Trump administration's approach, noting that the order targets single moms, seniors, and military members serving overseas.

"President Trump is working unilaterally to make it harder to vote from home for single moms, seniors, and the military serving overseas," Nessel stated. She also highlighted that many voters who used mail-in ballots in 2024 presumably voted for the current president.

State Officials Respond

Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson have both criticized the executive order as unconstitutional federal overreach.

"Mail-in ballots are a safe and secure voting option that over 2.2 million Michiganders availed themselves to in the 2024 election, many who presumably used that choice to vote for this very President," Nessel said.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson called the Trump order "illegal" and warned it would create "fear, confusion and doubt" that could block eligible voters from casting ballots.

"Let me be clear: our elections are safe and secure," Whitmer said in a release. "Any attempt to federalize our elections or make it harder for Americans to cast their ballots is an attempt to take away Michiganders' constitutional right to vote. I won't let that happen."

The Broader Coalition

Michigan is joined in the lawsuit by attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as Pennsylvania's governor.

The coalition argues the Constitution gives states — not the president — authority over elections and is asking the court to block the order from being enforced.

What the Executive Order Does

President Trump's executive order addresses what he has long characterized as widespread illegal voting by noncitizens and fraud associated with mail ballots. The order instructs the Department of Homeland Security, working in conjunction with the Social Security Administration, to "compile and transmit to the chief election official of each State a list of individuals confirmed to be United States citizens who will be above the age of 18 at the time of an upcoming Federal election and who maintain a residence in the subject State."

The order then "requires the USPS to transmit ballots only to individuals enrolled on a State-specific Mail-in and Absentee Participation List, ensuring that only eligible absentee or mail-in voters receive absentee or mail-in ballots," according to a White House fact sheet.

Concerns About Implementation

Election experts have raised significant concerns about the order's constitutionality and practical implementation.

"The Postal Service is not an election enforcement agency. It is not a substitute for state election administrators, and it is not equipped or authorized to decide who is or is not entitled to vote," said Don Maston, president of the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association, which has also raised concerns about the order.

Maston added that the order would "impose new administrative burdens on an agency that is already under significant financial strain" and warned that the effort to push USPS into that role "risks politicizing one of the nation's most trusted public institutions and threatening public confidence in both the mail and the electoral process."

Rick Hasen, an election law expert at UCLA, wrote on his blog that the order is likely unconstitutional. He added that "the timing here makes this virtually impossible to implement in time for November's elections."

Context with Previous Executive Order

This executive order comes in the wake of a previous Trump administration order on elections, signed about a year ago, which was blocked by federal judges who said the president lacked the constitutional authority to set voting policy.

In another case, a Department of Justice official admitted in court last week that the department plans to share that voter data with the Department of Homeland Security, to run it through the so-called SAVE system to search for noncitizens. NPR has reported that some U.S. citizens have also been inaccurately flagged by SAVE.

Legal Arguments

The coalition in the lawsuit argues the Constitution gives states — not the president — authority over elections under the Elections Clause, which states that the "Times, Places and Manner" of congressional elections are determined by individual states, with Congress able to enact changes.

The lawsuit is asking the court to block the order from being enforced.

Michigan's Voting Access

In 2018, Michigan voters approved expanded absentee voting. The state has long maintained that mail-in voting is a safe and secure option for its citizens.

"Our government's citizenship lists are incomplete and inaccurate. The United States Postal Service is overburdened and inadequate," said the Brennan Center for Justice, which advocates for expanded voting access and sued to block Trump's 2025 election executive order.

The National Rural Letter Carriers' Association has also raised concerns about the order, which the union's president said would "impose new administrative burdens on an agency that is already under significant financial strain."

Looking Ahead

The legal challenge could have sweeping implications for mail voting nationwide, which comes as Trump pressures Republicans in Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, a sweeping election overhaul that would impose new voter identification and documentation requirements. That bill is stalled in the Senate due to Democratic opposition and the legislative filibuster.

The Supreme Court is also expected to rule this year on whether Mississippi should be allowed to count mail ballots that are postmarked by Election Day but received by election officials after Election Day.

The timing of this lawsuit is particularly significant for Michigan, which will hold its August 4 primary election and a November general election. With the Postal Service given four months to formalize rules before the primary, state officials argue the timeline makes implementation problematic even if the order survives legal challenges.