Americans’ voting rights are under assault from pending legislation and a presidential executive order. Led by the League of Women Voters (LWV) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Americans are fighting back against attempts to make it harder for millions of eligible voters to have their voices heard.

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act — a top priority of the current administration — and it now goes to the Senate. The SAVE Act would potentially disenfranchise millions of voters by requiring all voter registrations and updates (new address, party affiliation or name changes) to be done in-person, at a town office, with a birth certificate or passport. According to the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice, more than 20 million American citizens of voting age don’t have ready access to such proof of citizenship documents. Additionally, millions of rural voters would have to travel significant distances to register to vote or update any changes.  The alleged aim of the SAVE Act is to prevent non-citizen voting, something numerous investigations and studies have shown to be extremely rare, despite unfounded claims to the contrary. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 already requires states to use a form that includes confirmation of citizenship.

Rather than wait for Congress to vote on the SAVE Act, President Donald Trump signed the executive order “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.” The executive order seeks to impose new rules on federal elections, with the addition of a documentary-proof-of-citizenship requirement on the federal voter registration form, and a deadline on mail-in ballots. Eighteen states currently permit time for counting mail ballots posted before but received after Election Day.

The Constitution gives the power to regulate federal elections to Congress and the states. The LWV and the ACLU filed a lawsuit, League of Women Voters et al v. Trump et al, challenging the legality of the executive order, claiming that it violates the constitutional separation of powers and the National Voting Rights Act. On April 24 a federal judge ruled to temporarily block the implementation of the executive order’s proof of citizenship requirement when registering to vote via the federal form. According to a LWV press release, “While the case proceeds, this injunction preserves the status quo where would-be-voters already affirm under penalty of perjury that they are U.S. citizens on the federal form.”

“The League of Women Voters is heartened by this ruling, which is a major victory for voters across the country,” said Marcia Johnson, chief counsel of the League of Women Voters of the United States. “While the fight is far from over, we’re glad the court agreed that a President cannot ‘short-circuit’ Congress and unilaterally use an illegal executive order to obliterate the rights of millions of voters … particularly women voters.”

Take action to help protect everyone’s right to vote by thanking Andrea Joy Campbell, MA Attorney General, who along with 19 state AGs sued to block Trump’s executive order, arguing that it is unconstitutional. Thank Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey for opposing the SAVE Act. Ask your friends and family in red and purple states to call or write to their U.S. Senators to oppose the SAVE Act and the president’s elections executive order because these draconian measures make it harder for all Americans — Independents, Republicans, and Democrats — to vote.

Randi Klein, Board Member, Voter Services, Northampton Area League of Women Voters. The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization with expertise in voting and elections. Its mission is to empower voters and defend democracy.