New Trump promotion would require proof of citizenship for voter registration: NPR

President Donald Trump has signed A new executive order That would require potential voters to show proof of citizenship to register to vote. The radical changes in the Order test the power of Trump’s presidential authority.

Proponents of voting rights are concerned that the new provisions can block millions of Americans to vote if they are determined, and say that Trump lacks the legal authority to make such changes.

The order claims that the United States “failure to enforce primary and necessary election protection.”

The order calls for updating the federal form that voters can use to register to vote, to include a requirement that voters show proof of citizenship, such as a passport, to a local or state officer.

States have long had a considerable leeway in how they manage their elections. The federal government has been able to set some minimum standards for federal varieties, although usually through legislation.

The order also requires that States Citizens of Voter Roles remove, states and federal agencies to share data to prosecute election crime and to provide federal agencies, including the head of the Department of Government Efficiency Team, access to the control of state rolls “for consistency with federal requirements.” It also instructs federal agencies to share data with states, such as immigration and social security, to facilitate states that control the suitability of the names on their voter roles.

However, proponents of voting rights warn outdated databases Can wrongly mention naturalized citizens as non -citizens. Persons from the past by states to clear non -citizens of voter roles have sometimes been wiped eligible American citizens.

The executive order also tries to prevent states from counting the mail or absent ballot papers that are received after the election day by holding up states that allow such ballot papers to be counted.

Proof of citizenship requirements

Prior to the 2024 elections, Trump and his allies made it Uneven claims about the threat of non -citizens votes In large numbers.

The current federal voter registration form asks registrants to swear, on the fine of meineed, that they are American citizens and qualify to vote, and to provide a driving number, Staats -ID -number or SOFI number. Those who try to vote illegally can be confronted with prison time, fines or deportation. Audits from the past And studies have shown that such cases are incredibly rare.

Nevertheless, Republicans have a policy priority to require documentary proof of citizenship. The executive order lends heavily from The Safeguard American Voter Feltricity ActKnown as the Save Act, a bill with the Republican. Huis republicans have indicated that they intend to pass it on in their room, but it is confronted with difficult opportunities in the Senate.

The executive order shows that Trump is not waiting for the congress. But legal experts say that he does not have the authority through executive order to make such changes, and the order conflicts with the existing federal voting rights.

“It is illegal at many different levels,” says Sean Morales-Doyle, the director of the voting rights at the Brennan Center for Justice, a non-profit organization that studies and proponents of voting rights. The order gives the election aid committee, a small, independent Bipartisan agency, to make various changes, including in the federal registration form for voters, but Morales-Doyle said that the president cannot tell what he should do.

Requiring documentary proof of citizenship would radically take on the voter registration such a mandate.

The order is explicitly applicable to anyone who uses the voter’s federal registration form. What is less clear is if the command would also put pressure on the states to show the proof of citizenship with registration forms of the state, as by withholding funds.

The order only mentions a limited number of ways to prove American citizenship. The options given are an American passport, an ID that meets the real ID law that shows citizenship, or a military ID that shows citizenship. A fourth option is a valid government photo -ID that “indicates that the applicant is a citizen of the United States or if such an identification is otherwise accompanied by the proof of the citizenship of the United States,” but does not say whether a birth certificate would count.

Morales-Doyle said that the fact that birth certificates are not explicitly mentioned as a way to prove citizenship are consistent with another Trump order That ends the citizenship of the birthright.

Just about Half of the Americans have an American passportAnd only five states currently offer improved licenses for administrators who show the proof of citizenship.