Trump Signs Election Integrity Executive Order: Documentary Proof of Citizenship Required on the Federal Registration Form
On March 25, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order 14248, "Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections," at the White House in Washington. The order states that, despite pioneering self-government, the United States fails to enforce basic and necessary election protections employed by modern, developed and developing nations alike, and declares it the policy of the administration to enforce federal law and protect the integrity of the election process. The order was published in the Federal Register on March 28.
Its centerpiece is documentary proof of citizenship. Section 2 directs the Election Assistance Commission, within 30 days, to take appropriate action to require documentary proof of United States citizenship in its national mail voter registration form, and to have a state or local official record on the form the type of document presented, its issuance and expiration dates, the issuing office, and any unique identification number associated with it. Acceptable proof includes a United States passport; an identification document compliant with the REAL ID Act that indicates the holder is a United States citizen; an official military identification card indicating citizenship; or a valid federal or state government-issued photo identification indicating citizenship or otherwise accompanied by proof of citizenship. The Secretary of Defense must likewise update the Federal Post Card Application used by military and overseas voters to require documentary proof of citizenship and proof of eligibility to vote in the state concerned.
To help states verify eligibility, the Secretary of Homeland Security must give state and local officials free access to systems for verifying citizenship or immigration status, the Secretary of State must make relevant database information available to state and local election officials, and the Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with the DOGE Administrator, must review each state's publicly available voter registration list against federal immigration databases, using subpoenas where necessary and authorized. Within 90 days, the Secretary of Homeland Security must provide the Attorney General complete information on all foreign nationals who have indicated on any immigration form that they have registered or voted. The Commissioner of Social Security must make the Social Security Number Verification Service, the Death Master File, and other relevant federal databases available to state and local election officials. Each federal voter registration agency must assess citizenship before providing a federal registration form to enrollees of public assistance programs, and the Attorney General must prioritize enforcement of the laws barring non-citizens from registering or voting, coordinating with state attorneys general.
On ballot receipt deadlines, the order restates that federal law establishes a uniform Election Day and that votes must be cast and received by the election date established in law. The Attorney General must take all necessary action to enforce those statutes against states that include absentee or mail-in ballots received after Election Day in the final tabulation for presidential electors and members of Congress. The Election Assistance Commission must condition funding to a state on that state's adoption of a uniform, nondiscriminatory ballot receipt deadline of Election Day for all methods of voting, excluding ballots cast under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.
The order adds both funding and standards conditions for the Election Assistance Commission itself. The Commission must cease providing federal funds to states that do not comply with federal law, including the requirement that states accept and use the national mail voter registration form with its documentary proof of citizenship requirement. It must amend the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines 2.0 so that voting systems should not use a ballot in which a vote is contained within a barcode or quick-response code in the counting process, except where necessary to accommodate voters with disabilities, and should provide a voter-verifiable paper record; within 180 days it must review and, if appropriate, re-certify voting systems under the new standards and rescind all previous certifications based on prior standards. In awarding Homeland Security Grant Program funding to state and local election offices, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the FEMA Administrator must heavily prioritize compliance with the updated guidelines.
On foreign interference and election crimes, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, must prioritize enforcement of the law prohibiting foreign nationals from contributing or donating in United States elections, and of the law prohibiting lobbying by organizations that have received federal funds. The Attorney General must enter into information-sharing agreements with each state's chief election official; for states unwilling to agree or refusing to cooperate in investigating and prosecuting election crimes, the Attorney General must prioritize enforcement of federal election integrity laws in those states and review the potential withholding of Justice Department grants to state and local governments. The order also directs all agencies to cease implementing Executive Order 14019, which was revoked by Executive Order 14148 on January 20, 2025, and to report their compliance within 90 days. (Source: The White House)
Source: The White House
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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