Chicago – March 25, 2025
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that would require voters to prove they are U.S. citizens before voting. The order also aims to stop states from counting mail-in ballots that are received after Election Day. Additionally, the order could cut federal funding to states that don’t follow these rules.
Trump has often questioned the fairness of U.S. elections and continues to wrongly claim that his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden was caused by widespread fraud. He and his Republican supporters have also made unfounded claims about illegal voting by non-citizens, even though this is very rare and against the law.
Last year, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill to stop non-citizens from voting in federal elections, a practice that is already illegal. However, the bill didn’t pass in the Senate, which was controlled by Democrats at the time.
Voting rights groups have argued that Trump’s new order, like a failed bill called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, would unfairly prevent some people, especially people of color, from voting because they may not have the required identification, like passports.
The order is expected to face legal challenges, as Republicans have pushed for stricter voting rules, while Democrats have worked to make voting easier by supporting mail-in ballots and early voting.
