America First Policy Institute v. Biden

Under federal law, it is the duty of the federal, state, and local governments to promote the exercise of the fundamental right to vote. In March 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order No. 14019 (“Order”), the purpose of which was to “protect and promote the exercise of the right to vote, eliminate discrimination and other barriers to voting, and expand access to voter registration and accurate election information.” The order instructed federal agencies to consider ways to expand access to voter registration; provide accurate information about registration to voters; encourage the public’s use of vote.gov; and work with states to register voters, among other provisions.  

In 2024 a group of plaintiffs, which included the America First Policy Institute, several Republican lawmakers, and a Wisconsin election official, filed a lawsuit challenging the order, alleging it violated the Administrative Procedure Act, National Voter Registration Act, and other federal laws. Plaintiffs noted that the Order requires the head of every federal agency to develop programs to register voters and to increase voter participation. The plaintiffs alleged this directive was “a blatant and unlawful effort to use taxpayer money to help elect Democratic candidates, including Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party for President.”  

The plaintiffs argued the Order was unconstitutional, stating the only “role for the Federal Government [in elections] is enacting and enforcing statutes regulating the time, place, and manner of congressional elections; appointing the day when presidential electors are chosen; and enforcing constitutional guarantees regarding due process, equal protection, and nondiscrimination on the basis of race, sex, and age. Through the Tenth Amendment, all other aspects of elections remain entrusted to the states as co-equal sovereigns.” Plaintiffs sought to enjoin agencies from implementing the Order and to have it declared unlawful by the court.  

On September 14, 2024, the League of Women Voters of the United States, Black Voters Matter, and Naeva moved to intervene in the lawsuit and defend the executive order and their mission of promoting voter participation and registration.  

On February 24, 2025, the plaintiffs filed a notice of voluntary dismissal, after the order was withdrawn by President Trump upon taking office on January 21, 2025. 

On February 26, 2025, the court dismissed the case. 

LWVUS was represented in this matter by lawyers from the ACLU, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and Ryan Brown P.L.L.C.