Trump Orders New Mail-Voting Rules, Prompting Immediate Legal Threats
The order directs DHS to compile citizenship lists and limits USPS delivery to tracked mail ballots, prompting state lawsuits and expert warnings the measure is unconstitutional.
Mother JonesTrump's executive order on mail voting is plainly unconstitutional
VoxTrump’s new attack on mail-in voting, briefly explained
Daily SignalTrump Mail-In Ballot Order Sets Up Battle With States
TownhallCalifornia Sues the Trump Administration to Block an Executive Order Targeting Mail-In Ballot Fraud
Overview
President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing DHS to compile state lists of confirmed citizens and instructing the U.S. Postal Service to deliver only tracked mail ballots, while authorizing the attorney general to withhold federal funds from noncompliant states.
Experts and state election officials said the order is plainly unconstitutional because Article I, Section 4 assigns states responsibility to run elections and courts previously blocked a March 2025 executive order on similar grounds.
Arizona, California and Oregon immediately pledged to sue, and officials in multiple other states said they could follow, with California Governor Gavin Newsom saying on X, "We’re challenging it."
The DOJ has sued more than 25 states for voter rolls, tens of millions voted by mail in 2024, and Republicans hold 217-214 in the House and a 53-45 Senate majority, reports said.
Legal experts and state officials said lawsuits are likely within days and predicted courts will block the order, while election experts warned the rules would be logistically impractical to implement before November.
Analysis
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