Trump signs executive order mandating citizenship proof for voting

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On March 25, President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring voters to show proof of their U.S. citizenship in order to vote and preventing states from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day.

Trump has questioned the American electoral system and still blames fraud for his 2020 presidential election loss to Joe Biden. He and his allies have also spread false claims about voting by non-citizens, which is rare and illegal. Republicans such as Trump want to impose more voting restrictions, while Democrats want to ease the voting process by allowing mail-in ballots and early voting opportunities.

The executive order calls for updating the voter registration form to include a demonstration of citizenship proof such as passports.

States are also required to prevent the counting of mail or absentee ballots postmarked by but received after Election Day. Other changes include prohibiting election equipment that uses QR codes and requiring the Department of Government Efficiency and federal agencies to look through records to identify ineligible voters.

The article has incited much criticism and debate. The order could risk disenfranchising millions of Americans and preventing them from voting. According to a 2023 report by the Brennan Center for Justice and other groups, an estimated nine percent (21.3 million people) of U.S. citizens of voting age don’t have proof of citizenship readily available. Additionally, outdated databases can erroneously list naturalized citizens as noncitizens. Past efforts by states to delete noncitizens from voter rolls have inadvertently purged eligible U.S. voters.

Voting rights advocates also question Trump’s authority to make such changes and indicate that these changes should be put to a congressional vote. The order directs the Election Assistance Commission, an independent bipartisan voting oversight agency, to make several voting procedural changes.

However, according to Sean Morales-Doyle, the voting rights director at the Brennan Center for Justice, the president can't tell the commission what to do.

There are some sections of the order that are unclear and potentially confusing. It isn’t clear if the order would require states to ask for citizenship proof with state registration forms by withholding funds if they refuse to do so.

The order does not indicate if a birth certificate would count as valid citizenship proof.

The actions are designed to prevent noncitizens from voting, but there is no evidence that this happens in significant numbers. Past audits and studies have shown such cases are incredibly rare. Currently, federal law requires that voters swear under penalty of perjury that they are citizens and eligible to vote when they register.

As Trump signed the order, he said, “this will end [election fraud], hopefully”, adding that his office would be taking more election actions to curb electoral fraud in the coming weeks.

Prithvi Sudhakar is a third-year majoring in cybersecurity. To contact him, please email pzs5683@psu.edu.