Outrage is mounting after President Donald Trump moved to impose strict penalties on states that continue to support expansive mail-in voting, following his latest executive order targeting election procedures.
Trump is set to sign an executive order on Tuesday that tightens rules on mail-in voting nationwide.
The order directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to work with the Social Security Administration to create a list of verified U.S. citizens eligible to vote in each state.
It requires the U.S. Postal Service to send absentee ballots only to voters on each state’s approved list. Ballots must use specific secure envelopes with unique barcodes for tracking. States will receive their updated voter lists at least 60 days before federal elections.
Federal penalties for non-compliance
The executive order instructs the U.S. Attorney General to prioritize investigations and prosecutions of anyone accused of sending ballots to ineligible voters. States that fail to follow the order could lose federal funding.
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White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement: “Election integrity has always been a top priority for President Trump, and the American people sent him back to the White House because they overwhelmingly supported his commonsense election integrity agenda.”
Jackson added: “The President will do everything in his power to defend the safety and security of American elections and to ensure that only American citizens are voting in them.”
The move comes while the Senate debates the SAVE America Act. That bill would require proof of U.S. citizenship and identification to vote, force states to clean voter rolls, and limit reasons for using mail-in ballots. The bill reached the Senate floor on March 17.
Trump has said he will veto other legislation until the SAVE America Act passes. On Truth Social he wrote: “It must be done immediately. It supersedes everything else.”
According to a report by Reagan Reese of the Daily Caller, the order directs federal agencies to create a verified list of confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote in each state.
All ballots must use specific secure envelopes with unique barcodes for tracking. The executive order also warns that states failing to comply could lose federal funding.
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Reactions
The order has drawn strong criticism from Democrats and voting rights groups who argue it will make it harder for people to vote. Some states that expanded mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic have defended the practice as necessary for access.
Republicans have pushed for stricter rules after disputes over the 2020 election. The Republican National Committee has filed more than 100 election integrity lawsuits in over 20 states in recent cycles.
This executive order directly ties federal money to how states run elections. It shifts power from states toward national standards on mail-in ballots and voter lists.
