Trump signs a new executive order on voting. Experts say he lacks the authority [View all]
Source: NPR
March 31, 2026 7:43 PM ET
President Trump has escalated his efforts to reshape American elections, signing an executive order that seeks to create lists of U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote in each state, and instructs the U.S. Postal Service to play a larger role in states' mail voting programs.
Trump said in the Oval Office Tuesday that he believes the order is "foolproof" and may or may not be tested in court. But election experts said the order was unconstitutional and prominent voting rights attorneys quickly threatened to sue to block the order from going into effect.
A previous executive order on elections, signed about a year ago, has been blocked by federal judges who said the president lacked the constitutional authority to set voting policy. The Constitution says the "Times, Places and Manner" of federal elections are determined by individual states, with Congress able to enact changes. Trump has long railed — baselessly — about widespread illegal voting by noncitizens and fraud with mail ballots. The new executive order — which was first reported by The Daily Caller — takes aim at both.
The order instructs the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to "compile and transmit to the chief election official of each State a list of individuals confirmed to be United States citizens who will be above the age of 18 at the time of an upcoming Federal election and who maintain a residence in the subject State."
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2026/03/31/nx-s1-5508948/trump-voter-list-mail-ballots-executive-order
He's apparently panicking.
Article updated.
Original article -
President Trump has escalated his efforts to influence American elections, signing an executive order that the White House says seeks to create a list of confirmed U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote in each state and use the U.S. Postal Service to "verify" mail ballots are for voters.
Speaking just now, Trump said he believes the order is "foolproof." But election experts have already said the order -- which was first reported by The Daily Caller -- would face immediate legal challenges.
A previous executive order on elections, signed about a year ago, has been blocked by federal judges who said the president lacked the constitutional authority to set voting policy. The Constitution is clear that states run their own elections, with Congress able to set policy. Trump has long railed -- baselessly -- about widespread illegal voting by noncitizens and mail voting fraud.
The executive order comes as Trump's Justice Department is seeking sensitive voter data from states, and is engaged in more than two dozen lawsuits for that data. The administration claims it needs the data to enforce states' voter list maintenance.
= new reply since forum marked as read