President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order on Tuesday requiring Americans to present documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections, a move that legal experts and voting rights advocates warn could disenfranchise millions and faces likely court challenges.
The order, described by White House staff secretary Will Scharf as "the farthest reaching executive action taken" in U.S. history, marks a significant escalation in the Trump administration's efforts to overhaul the country's election systems. The directive seeks to amend the federal voter registration form to mandate citizenship documentation-such as a U.S. passport, military ID, or REAL ID-to be eligible to vote in federal contests.
The executive order also attempts to bar states from counting any mail-in ballots received after Election Day, regardless of postmark date, and directs the Department of Justice to prosecute violations deemed "election crimes." It further instructs federal agencies to withhold election-related funds from states that do not comply with the new mandates.
"There are other steps that we will be taking in the coming weeks," Trump stated before signing the order. "We think we'll be able to end up getting fair elections." He added: "It's an honor to sign this one. I sign all of them, but to sign this one is a great honor."
Election law experts immediately pushed back. Danielle Lang, a voting rights lawyer at the Campaign Legal Center, stated: "The short answer is that this executive order, like all too many that we've seen before, is lawless and asserts all sorts of executive authority that he most assuredly does not have."
The Brennan Center for Justice echoed the sentiment, posting on X: "This executive order would block tens of millions of American citizens from voting. Presidents have no authority to do this. This order, like the SAVE Act now before Congress, would hurt voters and suppress the vote."
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, backed by congressional Republicans, proposes similar requirements-mandating in-person proof of citizenship and potentially ending online and mail voter registration in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam.
Historically, courts have blocked similar efforts. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that Arizona could not require proof of citizenship for federal voter registration, asserting that such authority rests with the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission, not individual states or the executive branch.
Despite the administration's claims of electoral insecurity, existing federal law already bars non-citizens from voting. Offenders face up to five years in prison. States currently use multiple federal databases-including data from the Department of Homeland Security-to verify citizenship status and voter eligibility.
Federal and state election officials have repeatedly affirmed the security of the U.S. voting system. Following the 2024 elections, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly said: "Our election infrastructure has never been more secure and the election community never better prepared to deliver safe, secure, free and fair elections for the American people." She added, "Importantly, we have no evidence of any malicious activity that had a material impact on the security or integrity of our election infrastructure."
Voting rights organizations warn the impact of the executive order could be severe:
- According to the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement, roughly 21 million voting-age Americans-approximately 9% of the population-do not currently possess a valid, government-issued photo ID.
- A 2023 State Department report found that fewer than 50% of Americans hold a valid U.S. passport.
- The Center for American Progress estimates that around 69 million women who have changed their names could struggle to present matching documentation.
Data from Kansas, which enforced a proof-of-citizenship law from 2013 to 2016, showed over 30,000 voter registrations placed in jeopardy-most of whom were ultimately found to be eligible.
Trump framed Tuesday's order as a corrective step to address what he called "fake elections," revisiting claims of voter fraud that have been widely discredited by state and federal investigations. "Perhaps some people think I shouldn't be complaining because we won in a landslide," Trump said, "but we got to straighten out our election."
