Commonwealth of Virginia
Office of the Attorney General
Jay Jones
Attorney General
202 North 9th Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219
804-786-2071
FAX 804-786-1991
Virginia Relay Service
800-828-1120
For media inquiries only, contact:
Rae Pickett
RPickett@oag.state.va.us
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Attorney General Jones Blocks Trump Administration from Exerting Federal Control Over Elections
RICHMOND, Va. – Attorney General Jay Jones today secured a victory from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, blocking President Trump’s unlawful Executive Order that attempted to interfere with states’ constitutional authority to administer elections. The final ruling follows a multistate lawsuit joined by Attorney General Jones and a coalition of 24 states that challenged the Administration’s attempt to restrict voting to individuals on lists pre-authorized by the federal government and voting-by-mail to lists maintained by the U.S. Postal Service.
“Federal efforts to undermine our democracy will not stand. Donald Trump acted outside of his presidential power and today, he's been held accountable. This moment marks a victory for the rule of law, but make no mistake, our fundamental rights remain under attack,” said Attorney General Jones. “The Trump administration has made it clear that they will stop at nothing to restrict access to the ballot box. This office will continue using every legal power and authority at our disposal to counter the misuse of power at the federal level.”
On March 31, 2026, President Trump signed an Executive Order purporting to develop lists of eligible voters in each state and directing the U.S. Postal Service, an independent federal agency, to develop its own such list and transmit mail ballots only to those on the list. The Executive Order also threatened states and elections officials with criminal prosecution and the loss of federal funding if they do not comply with his demands. In their lawsuit challenging the unlawful Executive Order, the Attorneys General argued that the Order would require states to act contrary to their own election laws, voter roll procedures, and vote-by-mail systems.
The court’s decision declares the challenged sections of the Executive Order to be unconstitutional and beyond the President’s authority and enjoins the Defendants from implementing them with respect to the November 3, 2026, election—and any earlier federal election in the Plaintiff States. The coalition will submit a proposed judgment to the court within the next seven days.
Attorney General Jones was joined in filing this lawsuit, which was co-led by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, and Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the Governor of Pennsylvania.
Yesterday, Attorney General Jones secured a victory in a separate lawsuit challenging President Trump’s March 25, 2025, Executive Order that attempted to require documentary proof of citizenship requirements for voter registration, force States to ignore mail ballots that are cast by Election Day but received by election officials just days afterward, and withhold various streams of federal funding from the States if they fail to comply. The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled in favor of the coalition, declaring key provisions of the Executive Order unconstitutional and inconsistent with federal law.
Published on: June 25, 2026
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