New York (AP) – President Donald Trump On Tuesday signed an executive action to review the United States election, including the need Documentary test of citizenship To register to vote in the federal elections and demand that all ballots be received on the day of the election.
Order says that the United States has not been able to “enforce basic and necessary electoral protections” and call on the states to work with federal agencies to share voter lists and pursue election crimes. Threatening to remove federal funding from states where election officials do not meet.
The movement, which is likely to face rapid challenges because states have a wide authority to establish their own electoral rules, is consistent with those of Trump long story of the railing against electoral processes. Often Claims are running for electionseven Before the results are known, and since then has made battles against certain methods of voting lost the 2020 election In the Democrat Joe Biden and He blamed it falsely about a widespread fraud.
Trump has it focused especially on mail votingarguing without evidence that he is insecure and invites fraud even when he has changed his position on the matter, given his popularity with voters, including Republicans. While fraud occurs, Is weirdLimited scope and is processed.
The documentary proof of the order of the Citizenship Requirement states that the President does not expect the Congressional Republicans to pass his long -awaited Safeguarda American Choose ActOr Save Act, who has guided to do the same.
Republicans have defended this measure that is necessary to restore public confidence in the election. The voting in the federal elections by non -citizens is already illegal and can lead to charges and deportation of crime.
Voting rights groups have expressed concern for the requirement to disassociate people. It is estimated that 9% of North citizens -voting age, or 21.3 million people, do not have easily available citizenship tests, according to a 2023 report from the Brennan Center for Justice and other groups.
There are also concerns that married women who have changed their names will encounter problems when trying to register -because birth certificates list their single names. These unique ones passed In the last city election in New Hampshire, which has a new state law that requires the test of the citizenry to register -to vote.
Trump’s order runs the federal agencies, including the National Security Department, the Social Security Administration and the State Department to share with the federal data of electoral officials who could help them identify non -citizens on their rolls.
He also says that the Attorney General should “prioritize the application of the laws of federal electoral integrity” in states that do not share information on the alleged election crimes with the federal government.
The order aims to demand that the votes be “distributed and received” on election day and says that federal funding should be conditioned by the state’s fulfillment. Currently 18 states and Puerto Rico Accept the files sent received after the day of the election Whenever they are marked on the scoreboard or before that date, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Trump’s order is likely to face legal challenges, as the Constitution gives authority over elections to states. Although Congress has the power to regulate voting and has done so to pass laws such as the voting rights law, the Constitution makes it clear that the states have primary authority to establish the “time, places and form” for the election.
Colorado Democratic Secretary of State, Jena Griswold, called the “illegal” weapon of the federal government the order and said that Trump “is trying to make it difficult for voters to fight at the polls.”
Democratic representative Joe Morelle, New York, the ranking member of the House Committee who oversees the election, said that the executive order “is not only wrong, but immoral and illegal.”
At least a democratic lawyer on Tuesday threatened legal actions. Marc Elias, who has been the subject of Trump’s anger, said in a social media post: “This will not be.
The executive branch has some authority about the election, said Justin Levitt, a constitutional law expert and a former White House Policy Advisor during Biden’s administration. He said that some federal agencies provide election support, including the United States election attendance commission, which distributes federal grant money to the states and manages a voluntary certification program for voting systems. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency helps electoral officials to protect their systems.
Former President Biden issued an executive order by 2021 by directing the federal agencies to take action to promote the voters’ record, which he drew Republicans’ complaints who called it federal. Trump has terminated this order.
Trump’s order calls on the election attendance commission to modify the voting system guidelines to protect the electoral integrity, including the orientation that voting systems should not use a vote that uses a barcode or a QR code in the voting count process. He said that the commission should condition the funding that distributes to the states on these new guidelines.
Virtually all face -to -face voters in Georgia, as well as voters in various states, use voting machines with a large touch screen to record their votes. The machines then print a paper vote with a summary of human selections and a QR code, a type of barcode, which a scanner reads to count the votes.
It is not entirely clear how the executive order would affect Georgia and the other jurisdictions that use these machines. Representatives of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger did not respond immediately on Tuesday evening to the messages seeking comments. Raffensperger issued a statement thanking Trump for the executive order, calling -the “first step in reforming election integrity throughout the country”.
Wisconsin’s representative Bryan Steil, the chairman of the House Committee, who oversees the election, said that the order is a “welcome action to secure our elections and prevent foreign influence.”
Mike Lindell, a Trump ally who spreads election conspiracies and wants to ban voting systems in favor of hand -count voting, collecting the news on Tuesday, saying that in an email we will solve our “sick elections”.
Trump’s executive order comes as a Republican National Committee launched a massive effort To poll the voter registration list nationwide. The Committee sent applications for public records this week requesting documents related to the maintenance of the Voter list in 48 states and Washington, DC, saying that the public should know how the states eliminate the inescapable people of voter rolls, including deaths and non -citizens.
Trump referred to the election fraud as he signed the order on Tuesday, saying, “This will end, wait.” He added that more election actions will be performed in the coming weeks.
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For Ali Swenson and Christina A. Cassidy Associated Press
Cassidy reported Atlanta. Associated Press Will Weissert writers in Washington and Kate Brumback in Atlanta contributed to this report.