Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Demand Trump Rescind Illegal Anti-Voter Executive Order
Senators say “requirements in this illegal order would likely disenfranchise millions of American voters…places a variety of other process burdens on voters, especially married women, rural residents, and low-income voters, and communities of color.”
Washington D.C.—U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said today they have joined Senate colleagues in calling on Donald Trump 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),” the lawmakers wrote. “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 millions more have a legal name that differs from other government-issued documents, including up to 69 million married women whose birth certificates no longer match their legal name.
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 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,” the lawmakers continued.
“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,” the lawmakers concluded. “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.”
The letter was led by U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, D-Calif. In addition to Wyden and Merkley, the letter is also signed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and U.S. Senators Cory Booker, D-N.J., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Angus King, I-Maine, Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Patty Murray, D-Wash., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.
The full text of the letter is here.
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