President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing the secretary of Homeland Security to compile a list of U.S. citizens in each state who are eligible to vote, with assistance from the Social Security Administration. The order further requires the U.S. Postal Service to adjust its rules so ballots are sent only to people on the voter list for their respective states and mandates that all mail-in ballots be placed in secure envelopes containing unique tracking barcodes.
Each state will receive a list of eligible voters no fewer than 60 days prior to each regularly scheduled federal election. The executive order also directs the U.S. attorney general to prioritize investigating and prosecuting anyone — including state and local officials, public and private entities, and individuals — who send ballots to ineligible voters.
Trump stated: “The American people sent him back to the White House because they overwhelmingly supported his commonsense election integrity agenda.”
Democrats have immediately accused President Trump of infringing on Americans’ right to vote and the right of states to run their elections through this order.
