In a move that has immediately sparked legal and political backlash, 79-year-old US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order in the Oval Office aimed at severely tightening the rules surrounding mail-in voting across the United States. Echoing his long-standing claims that mail-in ballots facilitate election fraud, the Republican leader's new directive introduces stringent federal oversight into a process traditionally managed by individual states.
At the center of the executive order is the creation of comprehensive "citizenship lists." The directive mandates the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to merge their databases. This collaboration will generate regularly updated rosters of confirmed US citizens, which will be sent to individual states to cross-reference with their voter registries.
Under the new rules, mail-in ballots can only be dispatched to individuals who appear on these federally approved lists. The White House clarified that inclusion on the list does not automatically confer voter registration or eligibility. Furthermore, the order imposes stricter handling protocols: all ballot envelopes must now feature unique tracking barcodes, and the postal service is instructed to deliver voting materials exclusively to listed individuals.
The administration intends for these regulations to take effect in time for the crucial congressional midterm elections on November 3, where all seats in the House of Representatives and a portion of the Senate are up for grabs. The push comes at a time when approval ratings for Trump and the Republican Party have seen a sharp decline in recent weeks.
The president's actions are rooted in his persistent, unsubstantiated allegations that his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden was the result of widespread voter fraud—claims that have been repeatedly debunked by numerous investigations and court rulings.
Legal experts have swiftly condemned the executive order as unconstitutional, pointing out that the US Constitution delegates the administration of elections to individual states, not the federal government in Washington. Democrats and civil rights organizations have already announced plans to block the measure in court.
Derrick Johnson, President of the civil rights organization NAACP, firmly stated, "This order will not stand." California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom echoed this resolve, taking to social media to declare, "We'll see you in court."
Meanwhile, Adrian Fontes, the Democratic Secretary of State for Arizona, condemned the administration's actions as "un-American." Speaking to the radio station KTAR News, Fontes remarked, "What we are seeing is a president trying to pick his own voters."
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