Statement: The Voter Participation Center Strongly Condemns President Trump’s Unconstitutional Order on Mail Voting and State Election Administration

The Voter Participation Center (VPC) strongly condemns President Trump’s executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Social Security Administration (SSA), Department of Justice (DOJ), and the United States Postal Service (USPS) to impose sweeping new federal controls over election administration. The court has already affirmed the president does not have the authority to alter election law. This order is yet another unlawful attempt by the federal government to interfere with a process the Constitution delegates to the states and to Congress, and to sow confusion and distrust ahead of the fall midterm elections. 

The executive order purports to address noncitizen voting, a rare occurrence that is already a federal crime. States have proven systems in place to verify voter eligibility. Rather than solving a real problem, this order manufactures one to justify granting the federal government unprecedented authority over state election administration.

The order’s provisions are dangerous, unlawful, and harmful to American voters: 

• The order directs DHS and SSA to compile state-specific lists of confirmed citizens eligible to vote and share them with state election officials. These lists would be drawn from SAVE data, SSA records, and other federal databases that have a well-documented history of errors. Relying on incomplete federal data to administer elections could put millions of lawful citizens at serious risk of being wrongly flagged or denied the right to vote.
• The order directs the DOJ to prioritize investigations and prosecutions of state and local election officials who issue ballots to individuals the federal government deems ineligible, even when those officials did not act knowingly. Threatening election administrators with federal prosecution is a chilling and unprecedented abuse of power that seeks to sow fear and distrust in our election system, all in support of a nonexistent problem. 
• The order instructs USPS to initiate rulemaking that would impose new tracking, verification, and envelope requirements on all mail-in and absentee ballots. It would also require states to submit voter lists to USPS before ballots can be sent, adding unnecessary federal bureaucracy to systems that already function effectively.

“This executive order manufactures conspiracy theories about noncitizen voting to justify an unprecedented federal takeover of state election administration and voting by mail,” said Tom Lopach, President and CEO of the Voter Participation Center, “Noncitizen voting is already illegal. Mail-in voting is safe and effective. What this order actually does is give the federal government the power to intimidate election administrators and make it harder for eligible Americans to vote.  The President does not have the authority to dictate who is and isn’t eligible to vote. The idea that the federal government would maintain lists of approved voters is authoritarian and should send chills down every American’s spine.”

VPC remains committed to continuing to provide resources and support to underrepresented eligible voters. Our mission remains unchanged: to ensure that all citizens have equal access to both register and vote. We urge all those who stand with this mission to contact the White House to tell them that you oppose this illegal executive order.

The Voter Participation Center is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to increasing civic engagement and closing voter registration and turnout gaps. Since 2003, VPC has helped register millions of voters—particularly among historically underrepresented communities—and continues to run the nation’s largest mail-based and digital voter engagement programs.