Trump signs order directing creation of a national voter list, a move sure to face legal challenges

Washington– President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order creating a national list of eligible, verified voters, a move that is sure to raise legal challenges as the president continues to demand more restrictions on voting ahead of this year’s midterm elections.

Note: Video from a previous report.

The order calls for the Department of Homeland Security, in cooperation with the Social Security Administration, to prepare a list of eligible voters in each state. It also seeks to prevent the US Postal Service from sending absentee ballots to those not on each state’s approved list, though the president likely lacks the authority to mandate what the Postal Service does.

Trump also calls for ballots to have secure envelopes with unique barcodes for tracking, according to the executive order, which was first reported by the Daily Caller.

“I think it would be really great,” Trump said.

However, Tuesday’s order is expected to raise legal challenges, as the president continues to attempt to interfere in the country’s elections.

Trump’s first election executive order in March sought sweeping changes to how elections are conducted across the country, including adding a documentary proof of citizenship requirement to the federal voter registration form and requiring mail-in ballots to be received at election offices by Election Day. Much of it has been blocked by legal challenges brought by voting rights groups and Democratic state attorneys general who claim it is an unconstitutional power grab that would disenfranchise large swaths of voters.

He also said in a February interview with a conservative broadcaster that he wanted to “take over” the election from Democratic-run districts, citing allegations of fraud uncovered by numerous audits, investigations and courts.

David Pecker, a former Justice Department lawyer who leads the Center for Election Innovation and Research, said Tuesday’s voting order shows he has not learned from his previous blocked efforts to assert control over the election.

“The Constitution is very clear: the president has no authority over state elections,” Baker said. “This will be blocked once the lawyers get to the courtroom.”

Elections in the United States are unique because they are not centralized. Instead of being administered by the federal government, they are conducted by election officials and volunteers in thousands of jurisdictions across the country, from small towns to sprawling urban counties with more voters than people in some states. The Constitution’s so-called “Elections Clause” also gives Congress the power to “make or alter” election regulations, at least for federal offices, but does not mention any presidential authority over the administration of elections.

The president is an outspoken critic of mail-in voting, claiming the practice is rife with fraud, as he pushes lawmakers to pass a far-reaching elections bill that would clamp down on it. Trump’s accusations of widespread fraud are baseless. A 2025 Brookings Institution report found that mail-in voting fraud occurred in just 0.000043% of all mail-in ballots, or about four cases for every 10 million mail-in ballots.

Trump himself has also used mail-in ballots, most recently last week in local elections in Florida. The White House said Trump opposes universal mail-in voting, not individual voters who may need the alternative voting method for reasons such as travel or military deployment.

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Swenson reported from New York. Associated Press writer Julie Carr Smith contributed to this report from Columbus, Ohio.