Josh Shapiro is suing Trump over efforts to limit mail voting and gather a national eligible voter list
“Pennsylvanians choose their representatives, not Donald Trump,” Shapiro said after joining a multistate lawsuit.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro joined Democratic officials from 22 other states on Friday in filing a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s recent executive order that restricts mail voting and directs federal agencies to create a national eligible voter list.
The suit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, is part of a flurry of legal action following Trump’s executive order that voting law experts have said violates states’ constitutional power to carry out elections.
Trump’s presidential directive, signed Tuesday, instructs the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate with the Social Security Administration to develop a list of eligible voters in each state. It also aims to prevent the U.S. Postal Service from delivering absentee ballots to individuals not on the list and calls for envelopes with barcodes for tracking. The order instructs states to keep election records for five years after an election.
State and local governments that are found noncompliant could be subjected to various consequences, such as the withholding of federal funds.
“The good people of Pennsylvania will vote — whether in person or by mail — their votes will be counted, and the will of the people will be respected,” Shapiro said in a statement Friday. “Pennsylvanians choose their representatives, not Donald Trump.”
Shapiro and officials from other states, including New Jersey and Delaware, argued in the suit against Trump and members of his administration that the president has no constitutional authority to enact the policies outlined in his executive order, and that the provisions “will inflict significant, imminent, and irreparable injuries” on the states.
They also said that this is the latest attempt from the president to falsely sow doubt into the integrity of U.S. elections.
“The President’s latest attempt to interfere with the States’ administration of their elections is as unprecedented as it is unconstitutional,” the states argue in the lawsuit. “Under our Constitution, the President has no authority to restrict voter eligibility or mail voting to lists of voters pre-authorized by the federal government.”
The officials noted that the timing of the executive order around several states’ primaries and just months ahead of the 2026 midterms adds an extra layer of confusion and a costly use of resources.
“Americans trust their local and state officials to run free, fair, and secure elections,” New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a statement. “We are confident the courts will reject this blatant power grab.”
Friday’s suit is at least the 22nd time Shapiro has sued the Trump administration since the president returned to office in January 2025.
Shapiro, a former attorney general who frequently sued Trump’s first administration, joined the mail voting lawsuit in his capacity as governor. Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, a Republican, has largely avoided signing onto political lawsuits, arguing that his focus is on the core functions of his office as the state’s top prosecutor.
Staff writer Aliya Schneider contributed reporting.