Arizona joins lawsuit challenging President Trump’s attempt to crack down on mail-in voting

PHOENIX — Arizona has joined a multistate lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s recent executive order cracking down on mail-in voting and seeking to create a national list of eligible U.S. voters.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said the executive order Trump signed on Tuesday would require drastic changes to election procedures that could disenfranchise eligible voters.

“Over 80% of Arizona voters cast their ballots this way, election after election,” Mayes said about mail-in voting in a Friday press release. “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.”

Why are states suing Trump over his executive order on mail-in voting?

Arizona and the 23 other states suing Trump argue that his order would force states to overhaul their systems at a “dangerously quick” pace.

His order directs federal agencies to compile a list of verified eligible voters in each state and instructs the U.S. Postal Service to refuse to deliver mail ballots to anyone not on it.

It also directs the U.S. attorney general to criminally prosecute election officials who send ballots to voters the administration deems ineligible.

This is way out of Trump’s jurisdiction, according to Mayes.

“The Constitution is absolutely clear: States run their elections. Not the president,” Mayes said. “Arizona will not allow the federal government to seize control of our elections.”

Kris Mayes one of several Arizona Democrats condemning Trump

Mayes is far from the only leading Arizona Democrat pushing back against Trump’s executive order, which comes just months before the state’s primary and general elections. Arizona’s primary is on July 21, and the general election is on Nov. 3.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, who is responsible for overseeing elections, also condemned Trump’s action.

“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,” Fontes said in the Friday press release.

He spoke in support of the lawsuit, saying Trump is “continuing to lie” about American elections.

“For decades, Arizona’s mail-in voting system has operated as the gold standard, serving the vast majority of voters each election season,” Fontes added. “It is critical that we reject the notion that access and security are mutually exclusive when it comes to running strong elections.”

Gov. Katie Hobbs has also spoken out against Trump’s executive order.

“What the president did is blatantly illegal and unconstitutional and a giant federal overreach into our elections,” Gov. Katie Hobbs told reporters yesterday. @ColtonKrolak

She spoke after being asked about President Trump’s executive order cracking down on mail-in voting. pic.twitter.com/1vDj36m5P8

— KTAR News 92.3 (@KTAR923) April 2, 2026

Additionally, several Arizona Democrats in Congress sent a letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, demanding he reject Trump’s order. U.S. Reps. Greg Stanton, Yassamin Ansari and Adelita Grijalva said the order would be “particularly harmful” to Arizona voters.

This marks the 40th lawsuit Mayes has joined against the Trump administration on Arizona’s behalf, according to a tracker on her office’s website. Mayes said her office has won roughly 80% of those cases and close to 100% on election-related matters.

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