Trump signs order directing creation of a national voter list

Key Points:

• President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a nationwide list of verified eligible voters and restrict mail-in voting, prompting immediate legal threats from Democratic state officials who argue it infringes on states’ authority to run elections.
• The order directs the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration to compile voter eligibility lists and seeks to bar the U.S. Postal Service from sending absentee ballots to those not on these lists, though experts say Trump likely lacks authority over the Postal Service.
• State officials from Oregon and Arizona, both heavy users of mail ballots, condemned the order and vowed to sue, emphasizing that election administration is a state responsibility and accusing Trump of attempting to manipulate voter rolls.
• Voting rights experts and legal analysts widely agree the executive order is unconstitutional and will face legal challenges, noting that the Constitution grants Congress, not the president, the power to regulate federal elections.
• Trump continues to promote unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud in mail-in voting despite extensive investigations and audits disproving such allegations; meanwhile, his administration has pursued aggressive efforts to obtain voter data and investigate election integrity.