News / The Fair And Just Journal

What the Executive Order Does

The March 31 order proposes a series of unprecedented federal interventions into state-run elections, including:

• Directing the Department of Homeland Security to compile and distribute a federal “State Citizenship List” of eligible voters using data from the Social Security Administration and immigration records, a move that effectively pressures state and local officials to rely on a federally generated list to determine eligibility for mail-in and absentee voting
• Attempting to prevent the U.S. Postal Service from delivering mail ballots to individuals not included on that federal list
• Ordering the Attorney General to investigate and prosecute election officials deemed to be providing ballots to “ineligible” voters, creating a clear threat that discourages officials from exercising their lawful discretion and pushes them toward using these federal lists
• Threatening to withhold federal funding from states that do not comply

The order is already facing multiple lawsuits.

A Clear Violation of Constitutional Authority

Under Article I, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution, the authority to regulate federal elections lies with the states and Congress, not the President. Election administration, including voter registration, ballot distribution, and vote counting, is carried out by state and local officials.

While the federal government can support election security efforts, it cannot unilaterally impose rules on how elections are conducted. Courts have repeatedly affirmed this principle.

This Executive Order ignores those constitutional boundaries. It attempts to centralize control over elections in the executive branch, fundamentally altering how Americans vote without any legal basis.

A Solution in Search of a Problem, Aimed to Disenfranchise

The justification for this order rests on claims of widespread voter fraud. But the evidence does not support those claims. 

Research from the Brennan Center for Justice has found that voter fraud occurs at rates between 0.0003 percent and 0.0025 percent, making it extraordinarily rare. More than 60 court cases following the 2020 election found no evidence of widespread fraud, despite extensive scrutiny.

The reality is that safeguards are already in place across all 50 states to ensure that only eligible citizens can vote, and states have developed robust systems tailored to their populations. These include identity verification requirements, signature matching, ballot tracking systems, and strict penalties for interference. No 

Over 48 million Americans voted by mail in 2024. If implemented, this Executive Order could create significant barriers to voting. By requiring federal verification through incomplete or mismatched databases, eligible voters could be wrongly excluded. Millions of Americans who lack specific documentation or whose records do not align perfectly across systems could find themselves unable to vote. This is not about improving election integrity. It is about imposing new hurdles that disproportionately impact already marginalized communities and erode confidence in a system that is already secure.

Protecting Democracy Means Upholding the Law

The Constitution is not ambiguous on this issue, and neither is the role of the presidency. No administration, regardless of party, has the authority to seize control of how Americans vote or to override the systems states have built to ensure both access and security.

The Executive Order directly challenges the constitutional balance of power. It also presents a real threat to eligible voters, who could face wrongful exclusion due to flawed federal databases and coercive enforcement.

This order must be struck down without delay, before unconstitutional federal overreach turns from theory into reality by denying eligible Americans their vote and eroding the rule of law itself.