President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order that claims it aims to tighten election rules ahead of the midterm of 2026, addressing claims he has made frequently without evidence of massive election fraud.
The new order, entitled “Maintaining and Protecting the integrity of American elections,” introduces strict new requirements voters must meet to vote.
Here’s what we know:
Important aspects of the new executive order
Proof of citizenship requirements:
To prevent non-Americans from voting in federal elections — actions already illegally punished by prison time and deportation — require voters to provide official evidence of U.S. citizenship, such as US passports and birth certificates.
Federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, need to share data to help state officials identify non-citizens in voter roles. However, the voting rights group raised concerns that citizenship requirements could lead to voter disenfranchisement.
“This will prevent only a small number of non-citizen voters registrations, but will stop millions of eligible voters, from registration to voting, who cannot easily access documents such as passports.”
There is also concern that married women who change their last name may be difficult to register for the ballot, as their birth certificate reflects their maiden name.
Advocacy groups civics pointed out that around 146 million Americans do not have passports.
Now, does Trump want to make voting difficult if your name doesn’t match exactly in all the documents? It strikes married people who change their names, disaster survivors who have lost their documents, and many others. This is not about security, it’s about restraint. https://t.co/n7qyin1i7o
– Jasmine Crockett (@Repjasmine) March 26, 2025
Voting submission deadline:
All mail-in voting must be received by Election Day to be counted in accordance with the executive order, which aims to standardize the voting process across the state. になったんです。 English: The first thing you can do is to find the best one to do.
Nationally, states now have a wide latitude to manage elections differently, but none are allowed to count votes if votes are voted after Election Day.
According to a national conference of the state legislature, a nonprofit, nonprofit, the state of Battleground, 18 states, including Battleground, accept mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, provided they are collected by mail prior to that date.
California, the country’s most populous state, is often cited for long periods of vote counting. As long as it is consumed by Election Day, you can count votes for up to seven days after the election.
Federal Funding Terms:
States that do not comply with some of these new requirements risk losing federal election funds. になったんです。 English: The first thing you can do is to find the best one to do.
“The Attorney General shall take appropriate action against the states counting the barrats received after the election day of the federal election. Federal election funds are subject to compliance,” the executive order states.
This could put great financial pressure on states that are now allowing more flexible voting procedures.
Funding for election campaigns is conducted at the federal, state and local levels, with funding from individuals, corporate, political action committees (PACs), and in some cases governments.
In March 2024, the US Congress allocated $55 million in new federal funds to states under the American Voting Act (HAVA) to enhance the administration and security of federal elections. になったんです。 English: The first thing you can do is to find the best one to do.
This funding was distributed to all US states and territories based on a given formula that takes into account factors such as the size of the population during the voting era.
Data Sharing and Prosecution:
Trump’s order also directs Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem to have access to a system in which the state can check the citizenship or immigration status of individuals registered to vote.
And along with Elon Musk-led government efficiency officials, he will direct the Department of Homeland Security to review the state’s voter registration list and use subpoena to ensure compliance with federal standards when necessary.
“Doge certainly doesn’t have the power to drive people away, but they were able to make a lot of noise trying to claim they found a scam when they realized that their voter registration roles were not kept up to date,” wrote Richard Harden.
President Trump signs an executive order on election integrity. This includes asking citizenship questions on the federal voting form. pic.twitter.com/dcumya6z8y
– CSPAN (@CSPAN) March 25, 2025
Does this new order face challenges?
Given the constitution empowers states to vote, Trump’s orders are likely to face legal challenges.
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fonz said he and state Attorney General Chris Mays have already discussed the possible litigation and described the executive order as “an attempt at a federal election.”
Fontes said the order was intended to create an illusion of fraud in the election process.
“It’s very systematic and very dangerous,” he said in an interview Tuesday with Vote Beat, a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom that focuses specifically on US elections. “We have to pay attention to what the final game is, not what the executive order says. It could be the final game where Donald Trump wants to be permanently in office.”
Who is supporting this new order?
Conservative groups, including the Heritage Foundation, praised the order.
“President Trump is ultimately employing the actions necessary to long-term need to support federal agencies such as Homeland Security and Justice, rather than trying to hamper efforts to reform the election process, a unfortunate feature of the Biden administration.”
Trump often questioned the outcome of elections that have not gone down his path, including his defeat to the former US president in 2020.
