Attorney General Mayes and Secretary of State Fontes Sue Trump Administration over Unlawful Executive Order Attempting to Exert Federal Control over Elections

PHOENIX – Arizona today joined a coalition of 23 other states suing President Trump in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, challenging his unlawful Executive Order that attempts to interfere with states' constitutional authority to administer elections by restricting voter eligibility and mail voting to lists of voters pre-authorized by the federal government.

"Millions of Independents, Republicans, and Democrats across Arizona have voted by mail for decades," said Attorney General Mayes. "In fact, over 80% of Arizona voters cast their ballots this way election after election. Military families vote by mail. Rural Arizonans vote by mail. Tribal members vote by mail. Donald Trump's executive order targets all of these voters. But the Constitution is absolutely clear: states run their elections. Not the President. And Arizona will not allow the federal government to seize control of our elections."

“The greatest threat to the safety and security of our elections is Donald Trump continuing to lie about them,” Secretary of State Adrian Fontes stated. “Arizona’s elections are run by Arizonans–our neighbors, our friends, and our family. This latest attack on vote-by-mail and voter privacy, is a direct attack not just on our voters but on our election administrators who work day-in and day-out to keep democracy running. For decades, Arizona’s mail-in voting system has operated as the gold standard, serving the vast majority of voters each election season. It is critical that we reject the notion that access and security are mutually exclusive when it comes to running strong elections.”

On March 31, President Trump signed an Executive Order attempting to establish a national list of eligible voters and directing the U.S. Postal Service, an independent federal agency, to transmit mail ballots only to those on the list. In the Order, the President threatens states and elections officials with criminal prosecution and the loss of federal funding if they do not comply with his demands. The attorneys general argue that the Order would require states to act contrary to their own voter roll procedures, vote-by-mail systems, and voter registration laws.

State and federal law entitle all eligible voters to cast ballots and have their votes counted in state and federal elections. The states filing this lawsuit permit registered voters to cast their ballots by mail if they meet their state's requirements for doing so. Voters of all parties, in all states, and of every demographic utilize mail-in voting – including the President himself.

In their lawsuit, the coalition explains that the U.S. Constitution gives states the primary authority to administer elections. In contrast, the Constitution does not allow the President to unilaterally impose changes to federal election procedures, particularly without an act of Congress permitting him to do so.

Moreover, the administration of elections is highly complex and requires substantial planning and preparation. The attorneys general argue that the President's Executive Order would require states to upend their existing election administration procedures for upcoming elections and conduct statewide voter education at a dangerously quick pace – potentially within weeks of primary elections and mere months before the beginning of mail voting for the 2026 general election. The coalition argues that such drastic and rapid changes will undoubtedly create confusion, chaos, and distrust in state election systems, all while threatening to disenfranchise eligible voters.

No excuse vote-by-mail was passed in Arizona in 1991, created by a Republican legislature and signed into law by a Republican governor. Arizona then doubled down on our innovative expansion of early voting options in 2007, ensuring that all eligible voters had the ability to automatically and permanently receive their ballot by mail. 

The attorneys general allege that the President's Executive Order violates the separation of powers and unlawfully interferes with states' mail voting programs. The coalition asks the court to prevent the federal government from implementing or enforcing the Executive Order.

Joining Attorney General Mayes in filing this lawsuit, which was led by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, and Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, are the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and the Governor of Pennsylvania.

A copy of the complaint is available below.