‘Proof of citizenship’ executive order explained
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday requiring people to provide documents proving they are citizens when they register to vote, a mandate that experts said could prevent millions of Americans from voting.
The order reflects Trump’s long-standing fixation on election administration as well as his baseless claims following the 2016 and 2020 presidential races that both were riddled with fraud, particularly illegal voting by noncitizens. There is no evidence that widespread corruption, by noncitizens or others, tainted either contest.
The U.S. Constitution designates the power to regulate the “time, place and manner” of elections to the states, with the proviso that Congress can step in and override those laws. It gives no specific power to the president to do so. Election experts said that Trump was claiming power he does not have and that lawsuits over the measure were all but guaranteed.
“This executive order is unlawful,” said Wendy Weiser, vice president for democracy at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University’s School of Law. “The president does not have the authority to require this. The president cannot override a statute passed by Congress that says what is required to register to vote on the federal voter registration form.”
Others suggested that the order reflects Trump’s desire to expand executive power — and his hope that the Supreme Court will allow it. His order directs the Election Assistance Commission — an agency governed by statute enacted by Congress — to change the federal voter registration form to require government-issued documentary proof of citizenship.
Caption from article by Patrick Marley.
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