Trump’s Order Mandating Proof of Citizenship for Voter Registration Sparks Legal Concerns

[Social Media]

 

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that dramatically alters the U.S. election system by requiring individuals to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. The order also includes broad changes to mail-in voting and election equipment, raising concerns about potential voter disenfranchisement and the legality of such sweeping reforms.  

 

Election law experts quickly pointed out that Trump’s directive is likely to face legal challenges, as courts have previously blocked states from imposing similar proof-of-citizenship requirements for federal elections. Under existing law, individuals registering to vote must swear under penalty of perjury that they are U.S. citizens. Legal experts argue that adding a documentary requirement could prevent millions of eligible voters from registering, particularly those without immediate access to the required identification.  

 

 

The order instructs the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), an independent federal body, to revise voter registration forms and mandate documents such as U.S. passports or government-issued IDs that explicitly confirm citizenship. However, only about half of Americans held passports as of last year, according to the State Department, and certain forms of identification listed in the order—such as REAL IDs and military identification cards—do not always indicate citizenship. Additionally, birth certificates are not included as an acceptable form of proof under the directive, further complicating the registration process for many eligible voters.  

 

Trump has long promoted the idea that noncitizens vote in U.S. elections, despite a lack of significant evidence supporting such claims. Federal law already makes it a crime for noncitizens to vote, and election officials routinely review records to ensure compliance.  

 

Legal scholars swiftly criticized the executive order, asserting that Trump lacks the authority to impose these changes. “A whole lot of this is illegal,” said Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the Voting Rights Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. He noted that the president does not have jurisdiction over the Election Assistance Commission or the management of elections.  

 

Justin Levitt, a constitutional law scholar at Loyola Law School, echoed this view, stating, “The president’s got almost no power over federal elections. One of the things that was very clear during my time in the last administration is how little authority the president has over elections—by design.” The Constitution delegates election oversight to Congress and the states, granting them control over the "times, places, and manner of holding elections."

 

Republican lawmakers have also pursued a legislative path toward a proof-of-citizenship requirement with the introduction of the SAVE Act. Unlike Trump’s order, the bill would allow voters to use birth certificates to verify citizenship. However, election officials and voting rights advocates argue that such measures still risk disenfranchising voters who lack access to their documents.  

 

Beyond voter registration requirements, the executive order makes additional sweeping changes to election procedures. It prohibits the use of voting machines that rely on QR codes, potentially forcing states to replace costly election equipment. It also mandates that all ballots must be received by Election Day, directly challenging states that currently allow mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if received later.  

 

The order further directs the Department of Government Efficiency and other federal agencies to scrutinize state voter rolls in an effort to identify ineligible voters. Levitt pointed out that past Republican efforts to uncover widespread voter fraud have largely been unsuccessful, raising questions about the feasibility of such a directive.  

 

With legal challenges expected to mount, the executive order’s future remains uncertain. Experts anticipate that courts will once again intervene, as they have in previous cases involving voter registration and election law changes at the federal level.

 

Based on a report by NBC News  2025-03-27

 

 

[flyingtlger]

[morrobay]

10 minutes ago, flyingtlger said:

So is that  supposed to mean stupid people are in favor of fair elections that by law are for US citizens? "You people" just can't stop making fools of yourselves 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

Sounds like a perfectly reasonable thing to require to vote. I don't get to vote in Thailand, so why should a Thai get to vote in the US?

 

As usual, the wokeistas are having a brain melt as it reduces their chances of winning a government of their want.

[Tug]

1 hour ago, morrobay said:

So is that  supposed to mean stupid people are in favor of fair elections that by law are for US citizens? "You people" just can't stop making fools of yourselves 

 

So now everyone has to present their birth certificate to vote?as usual it’s a ditcate not a law with little if any thought behind it.call it for what it is an attempt to disenfranchise the poor,just how many illegal voters did they find in 2020?

[dinsdale]

3 minutes ago, Tug said:

So now everyone has to present their birth certificate to vote?as usual it’s a ditcate not a law with little if any thought behind it.call it for what it is an attempt to disenfranchise the poor,just how many illegal voters did they find in 2020?

Absolute dribble. Rich or poor if you're a citizen of the US you can vote. If you're not you shouldn't be allowed to. Tell me what's wrong with that.

[Chomper Higgot]

The evidence that Trump hasn’t read the Constitution is stacking up.

[Skunkfarben]

Why a country have an election with no state id? Every country have this. People don't want it is because they want to lie and vote. Every country have this

[Skunkfarben]

9 minutes ago, Tug said:

So now everyone has to present their birth certificate to vote?as usual it’s a ditcate not a law with little if any thought behind it.call it for what it is an attempt to disenfranchise the poor,just how many illegal voters did they find in 2020?

 

Not birth certificate. National I'd or passport can be ok. Why anybody confusing with this

[Chomper Higgot]

1 minute ago, dinsdale said:

Absolute dribble. Rich or poor if you're a citizen of the US you can vote. If you're not you shouldn't be allowed to. Tell me what's wrong with that.

Let me correct you.

 

US Citizens, rich or poor may vote.

 

Any barrier placed in the way of them doing so impacts the probability that come election day they can vote.

 

Those barriers disproportionately effect the poor and ethnic minorities.

 

Let’s not pretend you do not understand that.

[Chomper Higgot]

4 minutes ago, Skunkfarben said:

Why a country have an election with no state id? Every country have this. People don't want it is because they want to lie and vote. Every country have this

May I be the first to welcome you to the forum.

 

Another brand new member who makes their way directly to the political discussions always raises the hope we might hear new views we’ve never heard before.

 

 

[hotsun]

anyone with a drivers license can vote. Why did it take so long for this to become a law

[JonnyF]

Good move by Trump.

 

Obviously the Dems want all the illegals they let in voting for them at the next election. Millions of votes appearing out of nowhere like in 2020. 

 

Not gonna happen. Those days are over. Much like The Dems in fact. 

[Chomper Higgot]

5 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Good move by Trump.

 

Obviously the Dems want all the illegals they let in voting for them at the next election. Millions of votes appearing out of nowhere like in 2020. 

 

Not gonna happen. Those days are over. Much like The Dems in fact. 

Can you please provide a credible source for your claim

 

“Millions of votes appearing out of nowhere like in 2020. ”

[HappyExpat57]

Again, thinking has become such a lost art.

 

There is not ONE single illegal alien in the US who would risk arrest/deportation to a Salvadoran prison camp to cast a vote for any Democrat. This move targets poor and/or elderly Democratic  voters.

 

And the funniest part is the Republicans should let this go - the Democrats are already doing a GREAT job shooting themselves in their own feet.

[flexomike]

22 minutes ago, Tug said:

So now everyone has to present their birth certificate to vote?as usual it’s a ditcate not a law with little if any thought behind it.call it for what it is an attempt to disenfranchise the poor,just how many illegal voters did they find in 2020?

you really are an idiot, too many illegals voting but you are ok with that because guess what they are all voting for your team.

[JonnyF]

2 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Can you please provide a credible source e for your claim

 

“Millions of votes appearing out of nowhere like in 2020. ”

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_turnout_in_United_States_presidential_elections

 

 

[Chomper Higgot]

2 minutes ago, flexomike said:

you really are an idiot, too many illegals voting but you are ok with that because guess what they are all voting for your team.

Please provide a credible link to back your claim of illegals voting.

[Chomper Higgot]

2 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_turnout_in_United_States_presidential_elections

 

 

That’s a no you can’t then.

[JonnyF]

Just now, Chomper Higgot said:

That’s a no you can’t then.

 

Only if you can't read. 

[hotsun]

7 minutes ago, HappyExpat57 said:

Again, thinking has become such a lost art.

 

There is not ONE single illegal alien in the US who would risk arrest/deportation to a Salvadoran prison camp to cast a vote for any Democrat. This move targets poor and/or elderly Democratic  voters.

 

And the funniest part is the Republicans should let this go - the Democrats are already doing a GREAT job shooting themselves in their own feet.

Poor people are republicans now. I dont know if youve realised this living in thailand, but democrats are mostly the coastal elite now

[Skunkfarben]

15 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

May I be the first to welcome you to the forum.

 

Another brand new member who makes their way directly to the political discussions always raises the hope we might hear new views we’ve never heard before.

 

 

You can see posts at the bottom of the webpage. I don't know where it is on the asseanow web site Thank you

[Skunkfarben]

10 minutes ago, HappyExpat57 said:

Again, thinking has become such a lost art.

 

There is not ONE single illegal alien in the US who would risk arrest/deportation to a Salvadoran prison camp to cast a vote for any Democrat. This move targets poor and/or elderly Democratic  voters.

 

And the funniest part is the Republicans should let this go - the Democrats are already doing a GREAT job shooting themselves in their own feet.

 

Maybe not vote now but Americans think they will make citizenship and then vote. That was the plan I read many times.

 

66 countries I travel. Most have national I'd card like Thailand

[Chomper Higgot]

3 minutes ago, hotsun said:

Poor people are republicans now. I dont know if youve realised this living in thailand, but democrats are mostly the coastal elite now

So who are those people in mid American rural districts the Republicans are trying to avoid in ‘town halls’?

 

 

[Chomper Higgot]

1 minute ago, Skunkfarben said:

 

Maybe not vote now but Americans think they will make citizenship and then vote. That was the plan I read many times.

 

66 countries I travel. Most have national I'd card like Thailand

66 countries!

 

How many have the Constitution of the United States?

[hotsun]

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

So who are those people in mid American rural districts the Republicans are trying to avoid in ‘town halls’?

 

 

Have you seen a map of it? The blue is all on the coasts, the vast interior is all red

[SABloke]

21 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Those barriers disproportionately effect the poor and ethnic minorities.

 

If true - why though? Tackle that issue then as a nation. There are many poor people in Africa, South America and Europe, and those people manage to vote in countries requiring ID.  Also, why poor AND ethnic minorities - aren't Americans with Indian heritage like the richest group of people in the USA? Or do you just think poor that ethnic minorities can't find their ID's and/or remember their SS numbers?

[Chomper Higgot]

1 minute ago, hotsun said:

Have you seen a map of it? The blue is all on the coasts, the vast interior is all red

I have, and that was at the time of the election, before Trump started his policies attacking farmers, attacking veterans, attacking social security, attacking Medicaid and now with more tariffs attacking all business and all consumers.

 

 

 

[proton]

You have to have a passport to travel, a driving licence to drive, why not ID to vote? Even in Thailand you need to prove you are entitled to vote in elections. We all know it's the Democrats who have been cheating the system for years.

[Chomper Higgot]

2 minutes ago, SABloke said:

 

If true - why though? Tackle that issue then as a nation. There are many poor people in Africa, South America and Europe, and those people manage to vote in countries requiring ID.  Also, why poor AND ethnic minorities - aren't Americans with Indian heritage like the richest group of people in the USA? Or do you just think poor that ethnic minorities can't find their ID's and/or remember their SS numbers?

It is true.

 

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/impact-voter-suppression-communities-color

 

https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote/vote-suppression/voter-id