The President of the United States, Donald Trump, signed an executive order on Tuesday (26) requiring voters to prove they are American citizens before voting. The measure also seeks to prevent states from accepting mail-in ballots received after Election Day. The order promises to withhold federal funding from states that do not comply with the rules.
Trump has long questioned the U.S. electoral system and continues to allege without evidence that his defeat in 2020 to Democratic President Joe Biden was the result of widespread fraud. The president and his Republican allies have also made unfounded claims about widespread voting by non-citizens, which is illegal and rarely occurs.
Last year, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill that prohibited non-citizens from registering to vote in federal elections, a practice that is already illegal. However, the bill was not approved by the Senate, which was then controlled by the Democrats.
The White House order aims to achieve similar goals. Voting rights groups argue that Trump’s order will disenfranchise certain voters, particularly those who do not have access to passports or other necessary identification.
“We have to straighten out our elections,” Trump said on Tuesday while signing the order at the White House. “This country is so sick because of the elections, the fake elections and the bad elections, that we are going to straighten this out one way or another.”
The order is likely to generate legal challenges.
In recent years, Republicans have tried to impose more restrictions on voting, while Democrats have sought to ease voting by supporting access to mail-in voting and early voting opportunities.
Public Citizen notes that about 146 million Americans do not have a passport, and a survey from the Brennan Center shows that 9% of American citizens who are eligible to vote, or 21.3 million people, do not have proof of citizenship “readily available.”
The White House argues that Trump’s order will prevent foreign citizens from interfering in U.S. elections. Under the new guideline, voters will be asked about citizenship on the federal voting form.
Source: Reuters