Critics say ‘election integrity’ plan to compile national voter list is unconstitutional and will be blocked by the courts
Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order seeking to restrict mail-in voting and compile a national voter list in a move that is unprecedented and likely unconstitutional.
The order directs the administration to establish a federal list of confirmed citizens that can legally vote in each state, and orders the postal service to send mail-in ballots only to those on the list. During a press conference at the White House, Trump said the administration would like to require voter ID and proof of citizenship, and repeated falsehoods about mail-in voting.
Trump has long attacked voting by mail and promoted misinformation about the practice, describing it as a scam that creates fraud in elections. Despite that, he has voted by mail himself, including in a recent special election in Florida.
The action, which the president has framed as an effort to enhance “election integrity”, directs the Department of Homeland Security to work with the Social Security Administration to create a national voter list and share that with states.
