Washington and Oregon sue to block presidential executive order on state elections

Washington state officials announced a joint lawsuit with Oregon on a presidential executive order they say unlawfully tries to control state election administration and could disenfranchise voters.

Attorney General (speaker 1) told reporters the suit challenges an order that "would give [the president] control over how the states count ballots, what voting equipment states can use, and how states register voters." He said the move is unconstitutional because "the president has no authority to set rules for how states conduct their elections." The office filed the case with Oregon to address harms specific to the two states' vote-by-mail systems.

Secretary of State Steve Hobbs warned the order would erode longstanding state authority and cited what he described as a concrete effect in Washington: "In 2024 alone, more than 300,000 ballots were received by county election officials after Election Day. Under this executive order, every one of those votes would have not been counted," he said. Hobbs also warned that requirements such as documentary proof of citizenship to re-register could "harm many eligible voters, especially seniors, low income people, and naturalized citizens," and criticized proposals to give external parties access to voter rolls as "foolhardy and ridiculous."

Representative Charlotte Mena (29th Legislative District), chair of the State Government and Tribal Relations Committee, framed the suit as part of broader protections for voting rights: "The progress that the legislature has made to enfranchise voters ... are under attack," she said, adding that the administration's move "threatens millions of Washington voters."

The Attorney General placed the lawsuit in a larger pattern of litigation against the administration. He said Washington recently won a temporary restraining order in a separate case to stop the cancellation of public-health grants linked to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has joined a multistate lawsuit concerning actions affecting grants from the National Institutes of Health, and joined a 19-state action to protect small agencies from funding cuts. He also said the state filed a response in the U.S. Supreme Court in a birthright citizenship matter and that Washington is now party to 11 lawsuits involving the administration.

When asked whether the state planned to seek an emergency temporary restraining order in the executive-order case, the Attorney General said no, explaining that TROs are reserved for imminent emergencies and that because no election is pending in the short term, the state would proceed through the normal litigation process.

Hobbs described voter-roll safeguards, including the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) and linked databases, saying they help identify deceased registrants and duplicate voting. He cited a recent county recount where records showed people who had signed ballots and then died afterward — an example he used to underscore the accuracy of Washington's voter files.

The lawsuit will proceed through federal court; state officials said they will work with the Washington Attorney General's Office and with partner states to defend state election authority in litigation.

The office did not provide an immediate court filing number in the press remarks and said it would not seek emergency relief in this matter because no near-term election created the requisite emergency.