The Daily Fuckup

President Donald Trump’s effort to put a documentary proof-of-citizenship requirement on the federal voter registration form ran into a legal wall in spring 2025. A federal judge in Washington blocked the change on April 24, and another major ruling on June 13 stopped the administration from carrying out more of the election order. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/4b683fe2e1106316fdb05621be9b7d0e?utm_source=openai))

The dispute was not about a vague theory of election power. It was about a specific federal form used to register voters for federal elections. Trump’s March 25 executive order aimed to have officials require documentary proof of citizenship for that form, along with other changes to voting rules. Judges rejected that effort at least in part, keeping the administration from adding the citizenship check through executive action alone. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/4f863aaa8e0c59640ebc727827ffc887?utm_source=openai))

The rulings reflected a basic legal limit: the president can direct agencies, but he cannot rewrite the voter-registration system by himself. In the cases over Trump’s order, the courts barred the government from moving ahead with the proof-of-citizenship requirement on the federal form. The decision did not wipe out every election-related priority the administration was pursuing, but it did block one of the order’s clearest changes. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/4b683fe2e1106316fdb05621be9b7d0e?utm_source=openai))

The administration argued that tougher registration rules were needed to protect election integrity. Opponents said the proof requirement would add a new barrier for eligible voters and for groups that help people register. The courts did not settle the larger political fight over voting rules, but they did say this particular change could not be imposed the way the White House wanted. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/4b683fe2e1106316fdb05621be9b7d0e?utm_source=openai))