A federal judge has ruled the Trump administration cannot enforce an executive order requiring documented proof of US citizenship on federal voter registration forms, a decision the administration defends as a lawful effort to protect election integrity.

US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, DC, on Friday found the requirement unconstitutional, writing that the president “lacks the authority to direct such changes.”

“The first question presented in these consolidated cases is whether the president, acting unilaterally, may direct changes to federal election procedures,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote in her opinion.

“Because our Constitution assigns responsibility for election regulation to the States and to Congress, this Court holds that the President lacks the authority to

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