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BumRushDaShow

(169,909 posts)
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 05:58 PM Tuesday

Trump signs a new executive order on voting. Experts say he lacks the authority

Source: NPR

March 31, 2026 7:43 PM ET


President Trump has escalated his efforts to reshape American elections, signing an executive order that seeks to create lists of U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote in each state, and instructs the U.S. Postal Service to play a larger role in states' mail voting programs.

Trump said in the Oval Office Tuesday that he believes the order is "foolproof" and may or may not be tested in court. But election experts said the order was unconstitutional and prominent voting rights attorneys quickly threatened to sue to block the order from going into effect.

A previous executive order on elections, signed about a year ago, has been blocked by federal judges who said the president lacked the constitutional authority to set voting policy. The Constitution says the "Times, Places and Manner" of federal elections are determined by individual states, with Congress able to enact changes. Trump has long railed — baselessly — about widespread illegal voting by noncitizens and fraud with mail ballots. The new executive order — which was first reported by The Daily Caller — takes aim at both.

The order instructs the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to "compile and transmit to the chief election official of each State a list of individuals confirmed to be United States citizens who will be above the age of 18 at the time of an upcoming Federal election and who maintain a residence in the subject State."

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2026/03/31/nx-s1-5508948/trump-voter-list-mail-ballots-executive-order



He's apparently panicking.

Article updated.

Original article -

March 31, 2026 5:54 PM ET


President Trump has escalated his efforts to influence American elections, signing an executive order that the White House says seeks to create a list of confirmed U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote in each state and use the U.S. Postal Service to "verify" mail ballots are for voters.

Speaking just now, Trump said he believes the order is "foolproof." But election experts have already said the order -- which was first reported by The Daily Caller -- would face immediate legal challenges.

A previous executive order on elections, signed about a year ago, has been blocked by federal judges who said the president lacked the constitutional authority to set voting policy. The Constitution is clear that states run their own elections, with Congress able to set policy. Trump has long railed -- baselessly -- about widespread illegal voting by noncitizens and mail voting fraud.

The executive order comes as Trump's Justice Department is seeking sensitive voter data from states, and is engaged in more than two dozen lawsuits for that data. The administration claims it needs the data to enforce states' voter list maintenance.
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Trump signs a new executive order on voting. Experts say he lacks the authority (Original Post) BumRushDaShow Tuesday OP
This order is a joke and will be struck down LetMyPeopleVote Tuesday #1
It is time to. #LockUpTrump Trueblue1968 Tuesday #8
So what? Trump doesn't care. Irish_Dem Tuesday #27
We need to make it so future admins can't allow shady think tanks like the Heritage Foundation to abuse EO privileges. Initech Tuesday #2
fool proof ? dweller Tuesday #3
If done, the minute there is the slightest discrepancy Captain Zero Tuesday #5
Maybe it is a setup,ike his multiple challenge cases in 2020 wnylib Tuesday #23
Corollary to Murphy's Law. TomSlick Tuesday #11
Elections are run by the states. MLWR Tuesday #4
Democracy Docket-Trump signs sweeping order attacking mail-in voting LetMyPeopleVote Tuesday #6
"Becker said he expects courts to move quickly to block the order" BumRushDaShow Tuesday #9
Im pretty sure thats where it will get filed...have a hard time Volaris Tuesday #17
It's expected to be filed in multiple district courts BumRushDaShow Wednesday #35
The courts have a choice orangecrush Tuesday #29
Hey Trump, I gotcha executive order right here oasis Tuesday #7
Putin & Orban? popsdenver Tuesday #10
There's a wee bit o' difference in how elections are run and votes counted in Russia and Hungary compared to the US Fiendish Thingy Tuesday #13
Trump knows the SAVE act will never pass Fiendish Thingy Tuesday #12
Without a doubt. Just a reminder, Bluetus Tuesday #21
TY reminder electric_blue68 18 hrs ago #38
He thinks he can rule by decree. DavidDvorkin Tuesday #14
Our wonderful Oregon AG Dan Rayfield has already filed a lawsuit. And our SOS is working on one. Amaryllis Tuesday #15
"compile and transmit to the chief election official of each State a list . . . ' AverageOldGuy Tuesday #16
Exactly! reACTIONary Tuesday #31
Next up: voter registration data breach, BadgerKid Tuesday #18
Laying more groundwork to tie up courts, cause confusion, and perhaps most importanlty Bristlecone Tuesday #19
Very worrying. 🤬 ffr Tuesday #20
"efforts to reshape American elections" hibbing Tuesday #22
This is where the cultists get confused Dyedinthewoolliberal Tuesday #24
It will be blocked within days pfitz59 Tuesday #25
That's why he's suing states for their voter rolls.I expect multiple lawsuits. FloridaBlues Tuesday #26
Here we go. orangecrush Tuesday #28
Kings don't need voter rolls, nor do they waste time on elections FakeNoose Tuesday #30
Can't help wondering I'd be on the approved list. Bobstandard Tuesday #32
He's shitting himself something fierce Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Tuesday #33
So people never move or change names? mackdaddy Tuesday #34
MaddowBlog-Trump's elections power-grab on mail-in voting is likely to fail, but it's not irrelevant LetMyPeopleVote Wednesday #36
Trump may have accidentally torpedoed his own bid to seize voter rolls: analyst LetMyPeopleVote 21 hrs ago #37

Initech

(108,808 posts)
2. We need to make it so future admins can't allow shady think tanks like the Heritage Foundation to abuse EO privileges.
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 06:02 PM
Tuesday

Captain Zero

(8,908 posts)
5. If done, the minute there is the slightest discrepancy
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 06:13 PM
Tuesday

He will declare all elections null and void.
If he needs a list have his party get it in each individual state.

This is bullshit to be involving the post office in it.

wnylib

(26,054 posts)
23. Maybe it is a setup,ike his multiple challenge cases in 2020
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 08:22 PM
Tuesday

as a means of casting doubt on election results.

If Dems win the House (and the Senate?), he will claim voter fraud and expect people to believe him because he'll have the idea planned already with this executive order, even if it loses in court.

TomSlick

(13,018 posts)
11. Corollary to Murphy's Law.
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 07:32 PM
Tuesday

It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.

LetMyPeopleVote

(179,976 posts)
6. Democracy Docket-Trump signs sweeping order attacking mail-in voting
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 06:31 PM
Tuesday

This executive order will be struck down



https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/trump-signs-sweeping-order-attacking-mail-in-voting/

Under the Constitution, states run elections and only Congress can set national standards.

This is a massive and unconstitutional voter suppression effort aimed at giving Trump the power to create a list of who is allowed to vote by mail,” Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket, said Tuesday. “We know where this will go — the targeting of Democrats for mass disenfranchisement. We will sue and we will win.”

Legal challenges to the new order are expected swiftly.

“It’s obvious the president didn’t learn anything from his first failed executive order,” David Becker, a leading election law expert, told Democracy Docket. “This is unconstitutional on its face. The Constitution clearly gives the president no power over elections.”

Becker said he expects courts to move quickly to block the order, as they did with earlier attempts.

“I expect that this will be blocked by multiple federal courts in a very short period of time and have no legal effect whatsoever,” he said.

He also pointed to contradictions between the administration’s recent legal arguments and the apparent scope of the new order, particularly around the creation of a national voter list.

“After the Department of Justice has been telling courts they’re not creating a national voter list, this appears to confirm exactly what courts were concerned about,” Becker said.

BumRushDaShow

(169,909 posts)
9. "Becker said he expects courts to move quickly to block the order"
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 06:43 PM
Tuesday

And make sure one gets filed in the D.C. district with the hope that Boasberg gets it because he's already royally pissed with this administration!

Volaris

(11,718 posts)
17. Im pretty sure thats where it will get filed...have a hard time
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 08:02 PM
Tuesday

trying to convince even Cannon that her court in Florida has jurisdiction over an executive order signed in DC lol

As an aside, that dude should be pretty high on anyone's list for promotion when this is over...he's been a rock star.

BumRushDaShow

(169,909 posts)
35. It's expected to be filed in multiple district courts
Wed Apr 1, 2026, 06:48 AM
Wednesday

but the D.C. district is an obvious venue given the national scope of the order.

And Boasberg already is "promoted" - he is the Chief Judge of the D.C. District Court (he had replaced Beryl Howell, who was eligible to move to "Senior" status in that court, and was rotated out, where she was another "rock star" during a lot of litigation in that court).

popsdenver

(2,317 posts)
10. Putin & Orban?
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 06:54 PM
Tuesday

win their elections in a landslide with 85+% of the votes in their countries.

You can bet your sweet asses that Putin has been advising the Republicans/Trump how it is done, starting in 2015......

Fiendish Thingy

(23,267 posts)
13. There's a wee bit o' difference in how elections are run and votes counted in Russia and Hungary compared to the US
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 07:35 PM
Tuesday

So I’m not sure any advice from Putin would be applicable, unless Trump start throwing opponents out of 10th story windows…

Fiendish Thingy

(23,267 posts)
12. Trump knows the SAVE act will never pass
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 07:33 PM
Tuesday

Marc Elias from Democracy Docket says this EO is unconstitutional and unenforceable, and he expects it to be blocked by multiple courts in the next few days.

Bluetus

(2,826 posts)
21. Without a doubt. Just a reminder,
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 08:18 PM
Tuesday

EO's only have effect as instructions to executive branch employees. EOs cannot direct states, Congress, the courts, corporations, or individuals to do anything.

This one is written in the form of a directive to executive branch employees. But it is a direction for them to perform an illegal act. And even if it is not struck down, it must be ignored by states because it has no legally binding authority on them and undoubtedly would violate many state election laws.

Amaryllis

(11,306 posts)
15. Our wonderful Oregon AG Dan Rayfield has already filed a lawsuit. And our SOS is working on one.
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 07:41 PM
Tuesday

AverageOldGuy

(3,869 posts)
16. "compile and transmit to the chief election official of each State a list . . . '
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 07:57 PM
Tuesday

A list that each state chief election official will toss in the shitcan.

BadgerKid

(5,009 posts)
18. Next up: voter registration data breach,
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 08:03 PM
Tuesday

Followed by feeding the data into AI tools for orchestration of whatever outcome is needed.

Bristlecone

(11,113 posts)
19. Laying more groundwork to tie up courts, cause confusion, and perhaps most importanlty
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 08:14 PM
Tuesday

Get our shitty media to talk about it nonstop, and not only act as if it is up for discussion, but suggest it is open for valid debate.

And The Ministry of Truth(Fox, OAN, etc tc) will spread the validity opinion until the cows come home.

hibbing

(10,599 posts)
22. "efforts to reshape American elections"
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 08:21 PM
Tuesday

Efforts to prevent people from voting, there, I fixed it.

Dyedinthewoolliberal

(16,213 posts)
24. This is where the cultists get confused
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 08:29 PM
Tuesday

when we say, 'he thinks he's a king, doing stuff like that. The Constitution says elections belong to the states, precisely for this reason." and they say 'Huh?'

FloridaBlues

(4,671 posts)
26. That's why he's suing states for their voter rolls.I expect multiple lawsuits.
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 08:32 PM
Tuesday

Things going bad for him so he creates a new problem daily.

FakeNoose

(41,697 posts)
30. Kings don't need voter rolls, nor do they waste time on elections
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 09:02 PM
Tuesday

Why is Chump doing this?

Because HE KNOWS HE'S NOT A KING! He knows the voters don't want him and won't listen to him. He just gave away the whole game when he signed this law. It's going to be shot down in court, and then he has NOTHING!

Bobstandard

(2,307 posts)
32. Can't help wondering I'd be on the approved list.
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 10:04 PM
Tuesday

Just because I’ve voted legally for 7 decades, have a passport, was born in a stateside US military hospital, and now look a lot like Benjamin Franklin, doesn’t mean I’d be eligible to vote this time.

mackdaddy

(1,979 posts)
34. So people never move or change names?
Tue Mar 31, 2026, 10:17 PM
Tuesday

So who keeps up these records for updates, changes or corrections?

What happens if there are errors?

Basically this all just duplicates the current voter registration system already in place.

LetMyPeopleVote

(179,976 posts)
36. MaddowBlog-Trump's elections power-grab on mail-in voting is likely to fail, but it's not irrelevant
Wed Apr 1, 2026, 04:13 PM
Wednesday

It might be tempting to brush off the president’s executive order as pointless political theater. But it’s not quite that simple.

It might be tempting to brush off Trump’s latest elections power-grab as pointless political theater since the executive order will fail in the courts.

But when a president becomes the nation’s most serious threat to the integrity of the electoral process, it matters.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-04-01T12:58:44.338Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-elections-power-grab-is-likely-to-fail-but-that-doesnt-mean-its-irrelevant

As March came to an end, the Republican again ignored his own country’s policymaking process, again decided to circumvent Congress and again signed an executive order giving himself sweeping authority over the country’s elections systems. MS NOW reported:

Trump’s order requires the Department of Homeland Security … to create a list of U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote. DHS would be expected to rely on information provided by the Social Security Administration, according to the Daily Caller, which first reported the Trump administration’s plans.

The U.S. Postal Service would then use that database to send absentee ballots to voters identified as eligible for mail-in voting, according to a White House fact sheet. The ballots would be mailed in envelopes with special codes only to voters enrolled in state-specific absentee ballot programs.


.....If Trump’s policy is ridiculous, and its failure in the courts appears inevitable, it might be tempting to brush off his latest gambit as pointless political theater.

But it’s not quite that simple. For one thing, the latest power-grab is part of a comprehensive effort to undermine public confidence in the nation’s electoral system and sow doubts about election results that Republicans don’t like. The president has played an instrumental role in fueling unnecessary public skepticism, and his executive order is likely to make a bad situation worse.

For another, Trump continues to position himself as the nation’s single most serious threat to the integrity of the electoral process.

On Tuesday morning, The New York Times published an op-ed by Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, who made a convincing case that the most pressing danger to our elections isn’t coming from abroad; it’s coming from the White House.

“For months, President Trump has made his intentions clear,” the senator wrote. “He has called for the federal government to ‘take over’ elections, impose national rules and override state authority. Now we are beginning to see how he may plan to do this.”

Later that same day, the president helped prove Warner right.

LetMyPeopleVote

(179,976 posts)
37. Trump may have accidentally torpedoed his own bid to seize voter rolls: analyst
Fri Apr 3, 2026, 05:06 PM
21 hrs ago

I am still pissed that Texas gave trump all of Texas' voter information. The trump DOJ has sued 20+ states trying to get these records and so far has not won any of these lawsuits. In these lawsuits, the DOJ never really states why they really need these records. trump's voting by mail executive order is clearly the reason for these lawsuits.

Trump acknowledged in his executive order that he "directs DHS to create a nationwide voter registration database.”

Trump may have accidentally  torpedoed his own bid to seize voter rolls: analyst

www.rawstory.com/trump-voting...

Evie (@evie55.bsky.social) 2026-04-03T20:06:48.463Z

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-voting-2676662305/

President Donald Trump's executive order demanding states put new procedures in place for mail-in voting and turn over information about who is voting by mail is almost certain to be struck down in court, Jim Saksa wrote for Democracy Docket on Friday — but that's not the only way it could derail Trump's ambitions.

That's because this order could also undermine one of the main arguments Trump's Justice Department has used in court to defend the lawsuits filed against dozens of states to seize their voting rolls.

"In those lawsuits, the DOJ has claimed it needs millions of voters’ private sensitive data in order to ensure the states are complying with federal laws that require states to take steps to ensure accurate rolls," said the report. "But outside of court, DOJ officials like Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon have undermined that claim by boasting that the state voter records they’ve already obtained have been used to verify citizenship status using the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program."

After judges began ruling against the lawsuits on these grounds, DOJ officials backpedaled somewhat and said there was no plan to help the Department of Homeland Security build a national database of voters.

Trump, however, may have blown that excuse by outright acknowledging in his executive order that he "directs DHS to create a nationwide voter registration database," noted the report.

"Along with Dhillon’s statements and Trump’s orders, the DOJ’s courtroom attestations have been impeached repeatedly," wrote Saksa. For example, "last week, CBS reported that DOJ and DHS were working to formalize a data-sharing agreement for the voter rolls. And on the same day Tucker was assuring a federal judge that the DOJ wouldn’t share state records with DHS, Eric Neff, acting chief of the DOJ’s Voting Rights Section, admitted to another judge in Rhode Island that they, in fact, would."

trump's DOJ/DHS really want a nationwide voter database with a ton of confidential information. This database would be used to enforce trump's voter id executive order. It will be fun seeing trump's executive order being cited in these lawsuits.
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