Nevada AG Aaron Ford Leads Another Multi-State Lawsuit Against Trump Administration

 Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat actively campaigning for governor in 2026, has once again joined forces with California Attorney General Rob Bonta to lead a coalition of Democratic attorneys general in suing the Trump administration. This time, the target is President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at enforcing citizenship verification and securing mail-in voting in federal elections—measures widely supported by voters concerned about election integrity. 

Ford and Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar announced the lawsuit on April 3, 2026, claiming the order—signed by President Trump in late March—unlawfully imposes federal control over state-run elections, restricts voter eligibility, and interferes with mail voting programs. 

Donald Trump is trying to nationalize our elections before the midterms and control how we vote. Unlike Joe Lombardo, I’m not going to sit idly by and watch it happen. pic.twitter.com/jtOp9jzw5H

— Aaron D. Ford (@AaronDFordNV) April 1, 2026

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, involves a coalition of approximately 19-24 states (reports vary slightly), including California, Massachusetts, and Washington. Co-led by Ford and Bonta, the complaint argues the order violates the Constitution’s separation of powers and states’ primary authority over elections under Article I, Section 4. 

The executive order directs federal agencies to provide states with verified lists of U.S. citizens eligible to vote, restricts USPS from delivering mail ballots except to those pre-verified lists (with barcode tracking for security), mandates proof of citizenship for federal voter registration where required, and includes enforcement mechanisms such as potential withholding of federal election security funding or prosecution for non-compliance. 

Trump administration officials have framed it as a necessary step to prevent non-citizen voting and late-arriving ballots that have fueled voter apathy and election challenges.

In a joint press conference, Ford declared: “President Trump has continued his attempts to trample the Constitution on a whim. This executive order is illegal at its core and is a transparent attempt to impose the president’s will over the rule and letter of the law. Nevada’s elections are free, fair and safe, and I will not allow illegal intrusions upon the sovereignty of the Silver State.” 

Secretary Aguilar echoed the sentiment, calling it an “unlawful attempt to grab power from both the states and Congress” and insisting Nevada runs “some of the most secure, transparent and accessible elections in the country.” 

Critics, however, point out the irony. 

Nevada voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment for Voter ID in 2024 (nearly 70% support across parties), yet Ford has opposed such commonsense safeguards and is now fighting federal efforts to verify citizenship—precisely the kind of measure that addresses documented vulnerabilities in mail-in systems. Rural Nevada counties like Douglas (63% mail turnout) and Nye (58%) relied heavily on mail ballots in 2024, but the order’s focus on eligibility verification and post-Election Day restrictions is designed to prevent the very chaos and fraud allegations that have plagued recent cycles. 

This latest legal action fits a well-documented pattern for Ford. 

As the California Globe has repeatedly reported, the Nevada AG has signed onto more than 40 lawsuits against the Trump administration since the start of the president’s second term, often on immigration, education, environment, and now elections. Many of these multi-state efforts, frequently led or joined by California’s Rob Bonta, have been criticized as political theater rather than substantive governance. 

In March 2026, California Globe detailed Ford’s participation in a California-led coalition lawsuit attacking Trump tariffs. Earlier coverage exposed Ford’s “frequent flyer addiction,” with nearly $140,000 in taxpayer-funded travel extravaganzas, ethics complaints over luxury junkets and alleged use of his office to bolster his gubernatorial campaign, and his continued prosecution of Nevada’s “fake electors” case despite President Trump’s pardons. Ford has also weaponized Black History Month rhetoric to defend birthright citizenship policies for illegal immigrants. 

Nevada Republicans and election integrity advocates have slammed the suit as a waste of taxpayer dollars and further evidence that Ford prioritizes national Democratic resistance over the will of Nevada voters. With midterms approaching, the lawsuit threatens to create the very “chaos and confusion” Ford claims to oppose—disrupting election planning while ignoring widespread public demand for verifiable and secure voting processes and elections.