President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday that seeks to create a national list of eligible voters and tighten rules on mail-in voting. The order directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in conjunction with the Social Security Administration, to compile lists of confirmed U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote in each state. It also requires the US Postal Service to send absentee ballots only to voters on these federally prepared lists and mandates secure ballot envelopes with unique tracking barcodes.
Key Takeaways
President Trump signed an executive order to create a national list of eligible voters and tighten mail-in voting rules. According to multiple sources, this move has sparked immediate legal challenges from Democratic states and groups.
- President Trump directs DHS to compile voter eligibility lists
- Executive order mandates USPS send ballots only to listed voters
- 23 Democratic-led states sue over constitutional concerns
- Legal experts call the order unconstitutional and likely blocked
According to The Guardian, states that don't comply with the executive order risk losing federal funding. Trump framed the order as a measure to restore confidence in U.S. elections, arguing that it would help prevent voter fraud. However, critics have swiftly rejected this claim, stating that federal efforts to force changes to state-run election systems are unconstitutional and unlikely to survive legal challenges.
A coalition of major Democratic groups filed a lawsuit asking a U.S. judge to block President Donald Trump's executive order tightening mail-in voting nationwide. The suit was filed in D.C. federal court by the Democratic National Committee, Democratic Governors Association and two major Democratic campaign groups, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries listed as plaintiffs. According to PBS News, within minutes of the order being signed, top elections officials in Oregon and Arizona pledged to sue.
The executive order was met with immediate resistance from several states. According to Fox News, Arizona, California, and Oregon immediately pledged to sue the Trump administration over the order. California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on X: 'The President wants to limit which Americans can participate in our democracy. We’re challenging it.' Additionally, more than 20 Democratic attorneys general filed a lawsuit Friday challenging Donald Trump’s Tuesday executive order to restrict who can vote by mail.
Legal experts have also weighed in, calling the order 'clearly unconstitutional' and predicting it would be blocked immediately. The Constitution gives states the authority to set election rules, and while Congress can pass regulations in some cases, experts say the president has virtually no legal role in overseeing elections. Trump's order comes as the Senate weighs the SAVE America Act, a measure that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID to cast a ballot.
In addition to the legal challenges, there has been significant internal resistance within the federal government. According to NPR, Kilian Kagle, the chief FOIA officer and senior component official for privacy in DOJ's Civil Rights Division, recently resigned as the Justice Department prepared to share state voter data with DHS.
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