President Donald Trump mentioned on Aug. 30 that he has determined to challenge an government order to request that federal elections require the presentation of voter ID so as to solid a poll.
“Voter I.D. Must Be Part of Every Single Vote. No exceptions!” Trump wrote on a publish on Fact Social. “I Will Be Doing An Executive Order To That End!!!”
The president didn’t give a timeline for his order. The midterm elections will likely be held on Nov. 3, 2026. States have authority over the way to maintain their elections so long as they adjust to federal prohibitions.
The president additionally repeated his opposition to the widespread adoption of mail-in ballots and the usage of digital voting programs, though this time he didn’t say they’d be the topic of any government motion.
“Also, No Mail-In Voting, Except For Those That Are Very Ill, And The Far Away Military. Use paper ballots only!!!” he mentioned.
Earlier this month, Trump had pledged to challenge an government order forward of the 2026 midterm elections to finish the usage of mail-in ballots and return to the usage of paper ballots as a substitute of voting machines.
In March, Trump issued an government order to require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for registering to vote in federal elections. The order was to implement that states meet the citizenship requirement for federal elections for requiring government-issued ID of their voter registration kinds.
The order additionally sought to overtake election guidelines associated to different features of election legislation enforcement, corresponding to voting deadlines, digital voting machine safety, and overseas interference in U.S. elections.
The president mentioned the adjustments had been meant to safeguard the vote towards what he describes as “fraud, errors, or suspicion.”
Authorized teams filed go well with, claiming that the order exceeded presidential authority, and a federal decide agreed partly with the plaintiffs, blocking implementation of a lot of the chief order whereas permitting a directive to tighten mail-in poll deadlines across the nation to stay in power.
After the Supreme Courtroom issued a judgment in late June in an unrelated case, limiting the judicial department from granting nationwide injunctions, the federal decide within the elections case amended her injunction in mid-July within the case to use solely to the 19 Democratic-led states that filed the criticism.
The Trump administration has appealed the ruling with the U.S. Courtroom of Appeals for the First Circuit, arguing that the enforcement sought within the government order doesn’t alter current federal statutes or violate the Structure.
“The Executive has interpreted the law for centuries—this is nothing new, and certainly nothing constitutionally objectionable. But, in any event, the President’s interpretation of those laws accords with their text, purpose, and history, and he has the authority to interpret for the Executive Branch what they require,” authorities legal professionals argued.
Trump additionally pushed for the passage of the SAVE Act, a significant overhaul of federal election legislation that was handed by the Home however floundered within the Senate, the place it will have required assist from Democratic lawmakers to go.
On the state stage, Texas Republicans, at Trump’s urging, just lately handed laws to redraw their state’s congressional maps to extend Republicans’ maintain on the U.S. Home delegation by 5 seats. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the invoice into legislation on Aug. 29. California lawmakers have responded with a push to extend Democrats’ maintain over California’s U.S. Home delegation.
Joseph Lord, Jack Phillips, and Jackson Richman contributed to this report.
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