NACDL President Andrew Birrell and Executive Director Lisa Wayne available for interviews following the 9 PM ET address.
Washington, DC (July 16, 2026) – President Trump is expected to announce new federal voting restrictions in a primetime address tonight at 9 PM Eastern. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) cautions that whatever is announced, four things will remain true when the speech ends.
First, the Constitution gives states the leading role in running elections. Article I, Section 4 assigns the times, places, and manner of congressional elections to state legislatures in the first instance. No provision hands the President unilateral authority over how Americans vote.
Second, the case for new restrictions rests on a false premise. Study after study, audit after audit, and court after court have found no meaningful evidence of widespread voter fraud. Restrictions built on that premise are not election protection. They are a centralization of power. If Washington wants a constructive role, it should help states simplify and clarify the rules for voter eligibility. Those rules are murky in many states, and confusion deters eligible citizens from even trying to register.
Third, states are criminalizing ordinary conduct around voting. Across the country, people have faced felony charges for casting ballots they believed they were entitled to cast, including provisional ballots handed to them by election officials. In Georgia, handing a bottle of water to a voter waiting in line can be a misdemeanor. Election police units and voter fraud task forces chill participation, particularly among people with past convictions who fear one paperwork error could send them back to prison.
Fourth, election fraud is a crime with an intent requirement. If the government wants to charge someone, it must prove intent beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury. Press conferences are not proof. Arrests are not convictions.
"Prosecuting confusion as fraud does not protect elections. It terrorizes voters," said NACDL President Andrew Birrell. "Defense lawyers live by a simple rule: sweeping claims require strong evidence. Any call for new voting restrictions should meet the standard demanded in every courtroom. Show the evidence. Test the evidence."
"A federal executive that can rewrite voting rules by decree for one party can do it for the next. Nobody should want that power to exist," said NACDL Executive Director Lisa Wayne. "Whatever is announced tonight, the constitutional question does not change. New restrictions imposed from Washington will face the same test in court: where does this asserted power come from?"
Any new federal restrictions would arrive less than three months after the Supreme Court's April 29 decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which sharply limited voters' ability to challenge discriminatory rules and maps under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Justice Kagan wrote in dissent that the decision renders Section 2 "all but a dead letter."
NACDL is prepared for what comes next. Its Criminalization of Voting Rights Rapid Response Team was created to protect individuals and organizations who face criminal investigation or prosecution arising from voting-related actions. With critical national elections on the horizon this November, the Rapid Response Team is mobilizing immediately to anticipate and counter an expected spike in voting-related prosecutions, providing criminal defense support and assistance to those facing investigation or charges. Team volunteers identify cases and conduct intakes nationwide. Alongside this effort, NACDL's Criminalization of Voting Rights Committee works in coalition with partner organizations, tracks prosecutions across the country, and develops jury instructions, motions, and theories of defense for lawyers taking on these cases.
NACDL defends people against the power of the state. When government restricts who may vote and prosecutes people for trying, that is a criminal justice issue.
Mr. Birrell and Ms. Wayne will be available for interviews following tonight's address. To schedule, contact Jonathan Hutson at jhutson@nacdl.org or 202-480-5343.
Contacts
Jonathan Hutson, NACDL Senior Director of Public Affairs and Communications, 202-480-5343 or jhutson@nacdl.org
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal legal system.
