The Trump campaign is suing New Jersey over Gov. Murphy's 'illegal' decision to send registered voters mail-in ballots

• President Donald Trump's re-election campaign has sued New Jersey over Gov. Phil Murphy's decision to expand mail-in voting ahead of the general election.
• Murphy issued an executive order that said in-person voting will be available on Nov. 3, but, because of the coronavirus pandemic, every registered voter in New Jersey will also get a mail-in ballot.
• The campaign's lawsuit deemed Murphy's decision "illegal" and accused him of appropriating power that belongs to the state legislature by overhauling New Jersey's election law, Reuters reported.
• Trump, who continues to insist that mail-in voting will cause voter fraud, tweeted on Wednesday, "IF YOU CAN PROTEST IN PERSON, YOU CAN VOTE IN PERSON!"

President Donald Trump's re-election campaign sued New Jersey late Tuesday after Gov. Phil Murphy announced an executive order allowing for mail-in ballots to be sent to every registered voter in the state as a safety precaution.

Murphy's Executive Order 177 allows that New Jersey will hold in-person voting, but will also offer a mail-in option, Reuters reported.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the US District Court for New Jersey, said Murphy's move was "illegal" and sought "declaratory and injunctive relief," according to Reuters.

The Trump campaign has accused Murphy of usurping power that belongs to the state legislature by amending New Jersey's election law, Reuters said, and that these changes "will violate eligible citizens' right to vote."

On Wednesday, Trump tweeted, "IF YOU CAN PROTEST IN PERSON, YOU CAN VOTE IN PERSON!"

This is in line with the president's repeated baseless claims that voting by mail will result in voter fraud.

The Trump campaign and the GOP have filed a similar lawsuit against Nevada this month, claiming that voter fraud is "inevitable" if every voter gets a mail-in ballot before Nov. 3.

In that case, however, Gov. Steve Sisolak didn't issue an executive order like Murphy did, the Hill reported. Nevada's lawmakers passed a bill to expand voting by mail, which Sisolak then signed into law.

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