President Trump Signs Executive Order to Establish National Voter List and Restrict Mail-In Voting

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday directing the Department of Homeland Security, in collaboration with the Social Security Administration, to compile a nationwide list of verified eligible voters. The order also seeks to prevent the U.S. Postal Service from sending absentee ballots to individuals not included on each state's approved list. Additionally, it mandates that ballots feature secure envelopes with unique barcodes for tracking purposes.

The executive order has been met with immediate legal challenges from state officials. Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read stated, "We don't need decrees from Washington, D.C." Similarly, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes criticized the order, asserting that the state's vote-by-mail system has delivered secure elections for decades.

Legal experts have raised concerns about the constitutionality of the order, noting that election administration is traditionally a state responsibility. David Becker, a former Justice Department lawyer, remarked, "The Constitution is very clear — the president has no power over elections in the states."

This move follows a previous executive order signed by President Trump in March 2025, which sought to implement sweeping changes to election procedures, including requiring documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration and mandating that mailed ballots be received by Election Day. Much of that order was blocked through legal challenges alleging it was an unconstitutional overreach that could disenfranchise voters.

President Trump has been a vocal critic of mail-in voting, alleging widespread fraud despite evidence to the contrary. A 2025 report by the Brookings Institution found that mail voting fraud occurred in only 0.000043% of total mail ballots cast.