Lawmakers: “Requirements in this illegal order would likely disenfranchise millions of American voters… [and] places a variety of other process burdens on voters, especially married women, rural residents, and low-income voters, and communities of color.”
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and 13 colleagues in sending a letter to President Donald Trump, calling on him to revoke his illegal anti-voter executive order that would disenfranchise millions of Americans.
“This unlawful directive exceeds your authority over an independent agency and would likely disenfranchise millions of eligible American voters by creating barriers to voting, while also inviting chaos into state voter registration processes – including by inappropriately sharing Americans’ data with the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE),” wrote the Senators. “Under the Constitution and existing law, this Executive Order cannot be implemented. Sadly, we are not surprised at your continued efforts to undermine our free and fair elections. From welcoming foreign election interference in our elections, to supporting the January 6 insurrection, to promoting baseless election conspiracy theories, your dangerous rhetoric has undermined public confidence in our election system.”
The proof of citizenship requirements in the executive order would restrict the right to vote for millions of Americans given the burden it creates to obtain these documents. Nearly half of all American citizens do not have valid passports, and many other forms of government-issued documents would also be insufficient as they do not indicate citizenship.
The Senators emphasized that the order runs counter to the constitutional foundation that elections are to be primarily administered by the states. They also sounded the alarm on the order’s attempt to empower the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to review state voter registration lists, other state records, and various federal databases, with the power of subpoena.
“Voting by noncitizens is already a federal crime and, despite unsubstantiated claims to the contrary, is extremely rare. By interjecting DOGE into the process, this order would interfere with states’ maintenance of voter registration lists, compromising voters’ personal information,” continued the Senators.
“The new federal voter registration requirements in this illegal order would likely disenfranchise millions of American voters. Millions of Americans do not have passports and many face challenges obtaining other documents that would be required by this order, if it was ever implemented,” concluded the Senators. “This order also places a variety of other process burdens on voters, especially married women, rural residents, and low-income voters, and communities of color.”
In addition to Senators Hirono and Padilla, the letter is also signed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
The full text of the letter is available here and below.
Dear President Trump,
We write to demand that you immediately rescind your recent Executive Order “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.” This unlawful directive exceeds your authority over an independent agency and would likely disenfranchise millions of eligible American voters by creating barriers to voting, while also inviting chaos into state voter registration processes – including by inappropriately sharing Americans’ data with the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Under the Constitution and existing law, this Executive Order cannot be implemented. Sadly, we are not surprised at your continued efforts to undermine our free and fair elections. From welcoming foreign election interference in our elections, to supporting the January 6 insurrection, to promoting baseless election conspiracy theories, your dangerous rhetoric has undermined public confidence in our election system.
This order runs counter to the constitutional foundation that elections are to be primarily administered by the states. The Federal role in elections is focused on helping states with the costs and technical challenges and ensuring that the right to vote is appropriately protected. This order places new mandates on the states and inserts new federal interference in state voter registration processes by federal agencies, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. We expect state and local election administrators of both parties to have significant legal and operational concerns about this order.
One of the most disturbing aspects of this illegal order is Sec. 2(b)(iii), which attempts to empower DHS and the DOGE Administrator to review state voter registration lists, other state records and various federal databases, with the power of subpoena. Voting by noncitizens is already a federal crime and, despite unsubstantiated claims to the contrary, is extremely rare. By interjecting DOGE into the process, this order would interfere with states’ maintenance of voter registration lists, compromising voters’ personal information. This effort by DOGE is similar to your 2017 Executive Order that established the “Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity” that sought voter files from states and was rejected by 44 states and the District of Columbia. If this provision were implemented, it would allow Elon Musk and DOGE to recreate this effort to purge state voter databases, preventing the participation of eligible American voters.
The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) was created as an independent, evenly balanced agency in the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which was enacted on an overwhelming bipartisan basis. The EAC receives appropriations from Congress to support states with the growing financial and technical challenges of administering elections in thousands of jurisdictions across the nation on a nonpartisan basis. This order lacks the authority to place new conditions on Congressionally appropriated funding or order the EAC require documents that many eligible Americans do not have in order to register to vote in federal elections.
The new federal voter registration requirements in this illegal order would likely disenfranchise millions of American voters. Millions of Americans do not have passports and many face challenges obtaining other documents that would be required by this order, if it was ever implemented. This order also places a variety of other process burdens on voters, especially married women, rural residents, and low-income voters, and communities of color.
For these reasons, we must urge you to rescind this illegal order.
Sincerely,
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