US President Donald Trump received a new judicial setback after a federal judge issued a permanent ruling preventing his administration from implementing most of the provisions of his first executive order related to reforming the electoral system in the United States.
The decision issued by US District Court Judge in Boston, Denise Casper, prohibits the application of the requirement that voters submit documents proving their American citizenship when registering to participate in the elections, which is one of the most prominent provisions included in the executive order issued by Trump.
The new ruling effectively turns the initial judicial decision that the same judge had previously issued, according to which she suspended the implementation of a number of electoral procedures proposed by the US administration, into a permanent ban.
The court rejected the Trump administration’s defenses, which considered that the lawsuit filed by a number of Democratic prosecutors in the states was premature, on the basis that the contested procedures had not yet entered into force.
The judge considered that the US Constitution gives the states and Congress the authority to organize elections, not the executive authority, stressing that the requirements contained in the executive order contradict the principle of separation of powers.
The decision is the latest chapter in the ongoing confrontation between the Trump administration and the judicial institution, as several executive decisions of the administration have previously faced judicial challenges related to the limits of the powers of the executive authority and its role in managing electoral files.
These developments come in light of the continuing political and legal controversy in the United States regarding voting mechanisms and ensuring the integrity of the elections. These issues constitute a fundamental focus of the American internal debate as the upcoming electoral elections approach.
