President Trump signed an executive order that aims to create a nationwide list of verified eligible voters and to put new restrictions on mail-in voting, as reported by Associated Press. This move was met almost immediately with legal threats from state Democratic officials, who are ready to challenge what they see as a blatant attempt to interfere with the upcoming midterm elections and voting processes.
The executive order, which many voting law experts are calling a clear violation of the Constitution, tries to grab the power to run elections directly from the states. This isn’t a new play from President Trump, either; it’s just the latest in a series of efforts he’s made to meddle with how Americans cast their ballots, all based on his repeatedly debunked allegations of widespread fraud.
Under the new order, the Department of Homeland Security, working hand-in-hand with the Social Security Administration, will be tasked with compiling a list of eligible voters for each state. It also tries to stop the U.S. Postal Service from sending absentee ballots to anyone not on a state’s approved list, though, let’s be real, the president likely doesn’t have the authority to tell the Postal Service what it can or can’t deliver. Plus, the order calls for ballots to be sent in secure envelopes that feature unique barcodes for tracking.
President Trump repeated his earlier claims about mail ballots when signing the order
He stated that “The cheating on mail-in voting is legendary. It’s horrible what’s going on,” adding, “I think this will help a lot with elections.” This kind of rhetoric isn’t new; he’s consistently lied about the integrity of state-run elections and the outcome of the 2020 presidential campaign, even asserting that he won “three times,” despite numerous audits, investigations, and court rulings that have debunked his accusations of voter fraud.
Within minutes of the president putting pen to paper, top election officials in Oregon and Arizona—two states that really lean on mail ballots—vowed to sue. They’re saying President Trump is trying to illegally step on the right of states to manage their own elections. Tobias Read, the Democratic secretary of state in Oregon, which conducts all its elections by mail, made it pretty clear: “We don’t need decrees from Washington, D.C. My message to the President: We’ll see you in court.”
Adrian Fontes, Arizona’s Secretary of State, a Democrat, also jumped into the fray. He pointed out that Arizona’s vote-by-mail system was actually designed by Republicans and has consistently delivered secure elections for decades. It’s a system that 80% of Arizona voters currently use. Fontes didn’t hold back, saying, “Donald Trump is attempting to pick his desired list of voters in each state with the Social Security Administration’s help. We will not let this stand.”
Voting rights litigator Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket, also quickly posted on X, stating, “If Trump signs an unconstitutional Executive Order to take over voting, we will sue. I don’t bluff and I usually win.”
It’s important to remember that elections in the U.S. aren’t some centralized operation run by the federal government. Instead, they’re handled by election officials and volunteers across thousands of jurisdictions, from tiny townships to huge urban counties that sometimes have more voters than entire states. The Constitution’s “Elections Clause” gives Congress the power to “make or alter” election regulations, at least for federal office, but it doesn’t say anything about the president having authority over election administration.
David Becker, a former Justice Department lawyer who now leads the Center for Election Innovation and Research, pointed out that the Constitution is very clear on this. “The president has no power over elections in the states,” Becker explained. He added that this executive order “will be blocked as soon as lawyers can get to the courthouse.” Becker also noted that the U.S. Postal Service is run by a board of governors, meaning the president really can’t tell it what mail it can and cannot deliver.
This isn’t President Trump’s first rodeo when it comes to trying to change how elections work. His first election executive order back in March 2025 pushed for big changes, like adding a documentary proof-of-citizenship requirement to the federal voter registration form and demanding that mailed ballots be received by election offices on Election Day.
Most of that effort has been blocked by legal challenges from voting rights groups and Democratic state attorneys general who argued it was an unconstitutional power grab that would disenfranchise lots of eligible voters. He even said in a February interview with a conservative podcaster that he wants to “take over” elections from Democratic-run areas. This order just shows he hasn’t learned much from his previous, blocked attempts to assert control over elections.
Published: Apr 1, 2026 06:30 pm