Galvin supports legal action against Trump's election order

The state's keeper of elections is on board with suing President Trump over his executive order demanding voters show proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

In a letter to Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Secretary of State Bill Galvin said he supports the legal action against Trump's order. Massachusetts is one of 19 states suing over the executive order.

"I wish to express my full support of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts joining other states throughout the country in challenging the patently unconstitutional actions of the President," Galvin wrote in the April 3 letter, which was released to the public on Friday.

Trump's order, issued March 25, demands that states check a voter's citizenship status when they register to vote. But the power to manage elections, even federal elections, lies with the states.

Beyond the constitutional issues, Galvin wrote that the order's provisions "appear" to be an bureaucratic effort to stop people from voting.

"This would, of course, place an excessive burden on citizens who do not have easy access to a certified birth certificate or passport; those whose evidence of citizenship was issued under a former name; and those [who] were recently naturalized," he wrote.

That burden is especially onerous for active duty military personnel, who may be deployed overseas and unable to access their birth certificate or other documentation before casting an absentee ballot.

He also flagged the order's section on casting ballots by Election Day, saying soldiers voting overseas normally have their properly postmarked ballots accepted for up to 10 days after the election.