Washington And Oregon Sue Over Trump Elections Order, Saying Mail Voters Could Be Disenfranchised

Washington and Oregon on Friday became the latest states to ask a court to reject President Donald Trump's efforts to overhaul elections in the U.S., a day after Democratic officials in 19 others filed a similar lawsuit.

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said the two states sued separately because they conduct elections entirely by mail and would be particularly harmed by the president's efforts.

"Neither the Constitution nor any federal law gives the president authority to set rules for how states conduct elections," Brown, a Democrat, said during a news conference. "It is the states that decide how voters are registered. It is the states that decide how ballots are counted."

Friday's lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Seattle is the fifth against the executive order since it was issued last week. The order includes new requirements that people provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote and a demand that all mail ballots be received by Election Day. It also puts states' federal funding at risk if election officials don't comply.

That could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters in the Pacific Northwest, where ballots must be postmarked - but not necessarily received - by Election Day. Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs noted at the news conference that more than 300,000 ballots in Washington arrived after Election Day last year.