Arizona's Mayes, Fontes join lawsuit over Trump's mail-in voting order

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes joined 23 other states in suing the Trump administration on Friday over an executive order aiming to restrict mail-in voting.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday instructed the Department of Homeland Security to create a list of citizens who are eligible to vote in each state.

The order also requires the U.S. Postal Service to only send mail ballots to authorized voters on state mail lists.

More than 80% of Arizonans vote by mail.

Mayes and Fontes said in a statement that the power to run elections rests with states, not the federal government.

“The greatest threat to the safety and security of our elections is Donald Trump continuing to lie about them,” Fontes wrote.

They argue Arizona is the gold standard for offering the option to vote by mail.

The coalition, composed of Democratic leaders, also notes that implementing the changes in the executive order would be nearly impossible so close to upcoming elections.

All three of Arizona’s congressmen sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Friday asking the Department of Justice to reject Trump’s order.

“This is a gross overreach of the federal government,” the representatives said in a joint statement. “The Constitution does not give the president unilateral authority over how voting is conducted.”

The order imposed federal voter ID requirements, but was largely blocked by federal courts.

Arizona’s Democratic leaders argue the courts have already ruled against Trump’s efforts to “federalize” elections, and the outcome of this order will be the same.