LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A federal judge in Massachusetts has granted a preliminary injunction blocking President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14248 titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.” The order seeks to make changes to the national voter registration form to require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in federal elections.
The injunction temporarily halts enforcement of the order while legal challenges proceed. The lawsuit against the Trump administration was filed by Nessel and 19 other attorneys general in April of 2025. The attorneys general argue that the order unlawfully infringes on powers granted by Congress.
AG Nessel applauds court for halting Trump’s election rules.
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Michigan Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel, ever eager to block Trump at every turn, announced her victory on Friday, June 13 in a press release saying, “Our elections are run by Michiganders, for Michigan voters, and are not dictated by a president with no regard for our laws or the Constitution.” Nessel goes on to say, “I am pleased the Court agreed that Donald Trump’s executive order would have unlawfully disrupted elections in our state and unilaterally undermined the democratic process for millions of voters. I remain committed to protecting the rights of our residents and defending Michigan’s election laws against attempts to erode them.”
What is the Executive Order about?
Trump’s order, signed in March 2025, seeks to tighten federal election security and voter eligibility standards, and says that “Despite pioneering self-government, the United States now fails to enforce basic and necessary election protections employed by modern, developed nations, as well as those still developing.” It further states, “the fight of American citizens to have their votes properly counted and tabulated, without illegal dilution, is vital to determining the rightful winner of an election.”
The order outlines a series of common-sense reforms including requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote, improving the security of voting systems, and cutting off federal funds to states that ignore federal election laws.
Proof of citizenship? Blue states call it voter suppression, not security.
However, to Nessel and her 19 blue-state legal colleagues, these are signs of tyranny, not transparency. The judge who issued the preliminary injunction argues that the changes would “divert the States’ resources from other key projects such as voter registration list maintenance and preparing for upcoming elections. Michigan, for example, has attested that these changes will disrupt the ‘crucial work’ performed by “virtually all staff associated with election administration in the Bureau of Elections.”
Trump calls election integrity measures common sense – Democrats call it the end of democracy.
Trump’s executive order addresses concerns that many developed nations have already tackled: voter-ID laws, paper ballots, deadlines for mail-in votes, and protection against foreign interference in
elections; however, the Democratic Party defines these kinds of measures as disenfranchisement and a threat to democracy.
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Trump’s executive order doesn’t appear to propose anything radical. In fact, much of it is about enforcing existing laws that prohibit foreign nationals from voting, and about making sure states don’t count ballots received days after elections are over.
Many argue this is not voter suppression but a measure aimed at protecting election integrity. Critics of the court’s decision say it blocks an executive order intended to enhance voter verification and instead removes a potential step toward strengthening public trust in the electoral process.
