Pro-Democracy Advocates Call Presidential Order an Overreach
Advocates for voting rights and democracy expressed strong disapproval after President Donald Trump, on Tuesday night, issued what they describe as a dangerous overstep of authoritarian control. This executive order, they claim, unlawfully curtails voter access across the nation and penalizes states that facilitate voter registration at the polls.
Titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” the executive order paradoxically threatens the voting process, according to its critics. They argue it seeks to complicate the voting process for millions of qualified U.S. voters in both state and federal elections.
Brett Edkins, Stand Up America’s Managing Director for Policy and Political Affairs, criticized the order as a clear attempt to override state and national control over elections, aiming to prevent millions of Americans from voting.
“This is a blatant attack on democracy.” — Lisa Gilbert, Public Citizen
“Regarded by many legal authorities as likely unlawful,” continued Edkins, “the order risks penalizing states that do not comply and could disenfranchise any American without a passport. It also bizarrely includes Elon Musk’s DOGE in its enforcement strategy. This is not about election security—it’s about voter suppression.”
The ACLU argued that the presidential directive “represents a significant overreach of executive power and poses a direct threat to the fundamental right to vote.” It does so by mandating, without Congressional approval, that the Election Assistance Commission revise the national mail voter registration form to include proof of citizenship, such as a passport—something unprecedented in U.S. history.
Furthermore, Trump’s directive demands states to implement “proof of citizenship requirements” and threatens to withhold substantial federal funds from state election authorities who count absentee or mail-in ballots received after Election Day.
“This isn’t about securing our elections—it’s voter suppression, plain and simple.” —Brett Edkins, Stand Up America
Lisa Gilbert, co-director of Public Citizen, reiterated the sentiment, stating that the president’s aggressive stance on voting rights undermines rather than upholds election integrity.
“This is a blatant attack on democracy and an authoritarian power grab,” Gilbert stated. “This order will compromise our electoral systems, suppress millions of votes, particularly among voters of color, and lead to more unfounded allegations of election fraud by Trump.”
“A president does not set election laws and never will,” declared Virginia Kase Solomón, president and CEO of Common Cause. “Trump’s executive action is an attempt to strip away our voting rights or make it so difficult that we choose not to participate. The public rejects these tactics. At Common Cause, we will combat voter suppression wherever it emerges, including in the White House, because voting is a right of the many, not the privileged few. This executive order will not prevail.”
“A president does not set election law and never will.” —Virginia Kase Solomón, Common Cause
Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, cautioned that the executive order, if implemented, would disenfranchise tens of millions of eligible voters nationwide, contradicting its stated goal of rendering elections “honest and worthy of public trust.” Lakin pointed out that this order is part of a broader Republican strategy to leverage the false narrative of widespread voter fraud as a pretext to curtail voting rights and access to ballots.
“This action will undoubtedly affect communities historically marginalized, including voters of color, naturalized citizens, individuals with disabilities, and the elderly, by introducing needless barriers to the essential right to vote,” Lakin stated. “We deserve better than elected officials using xenophobia and the myth of voter fraud to compromise our rights. We will exert all our efforts to thwart this unconstitutional assault on our voting rights, ensuring that every eligible American can partake in our democracy. We are prepared to take President Trump to court.”
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