President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday cracking down on voter fraud through a slew of election integrity measures, including universal proof-of-citizenship requirements for anyone registering to vote and increased enforcement of election laws.
[RELATED: Records Show Legal and Illegal Aliens Are Voting in Maine and Costing MaineCare a Fortune…]
“Above all, elections must be honest and worthy of the public trust. That requires voting methods that produce a voter-verifiable paper record allowing voters to efficiently check their votes to protect against fraud or mistake. Election-integrity standards must be modified accordingly,” said President Trump in his order.
The order pointed out that the U.S. is significantly behind countries across the world, including Canada, Germany, India, and Brazil, in election security, and implements a slew of changes to remedy that disparity.
The wide-ranging order instructs the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to require proof of citizenship on all of its voter registration forms. Other agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Social Security Administration, and the Department of State, are required to make federal databases available to state election officials to allow them to verify the eligibility of anyone registering to vote.
The new proof-of-citizenship requirements will also be imposed on anyone applying for a mail-in ballot.
The order also furthers enforcement of existing laws and increases prosecutions against those who vote as non-citizens or commit other forms of voter fraud.
Attorney General Pam Bondi will prioritize the prosecution of non-citizens voting illegally and will use information from the DHS to further those prosecutions while coordinating with state-level attorneys general. She will also prosecute non-citizens caught administering elections or illegally donating to political campaigns.
Bondi will also crack down on states that count ballots received after election day.
The order updates the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines 2.0 to include requiring a verifiable paper ballot record and a ban on ballots that contain the vote information in a QR code or other barcodes.
Though these guidelines are optional, Trump specified that federal grants would be prioritized based on adherence to the guidelines.
States that refuse to comply with the mandatory provisions in the order will face a loss of federal election-related funds and may be prioritized for enforcement activities.
As the Second Trump Administration faces injunctions and rulings from a variety of liberal judges seeking to undermine its agenda, the president included a “severability” provision in his election integrity order to defend against judicial activism. The clause stipulates that if any individual portions of the law are found invalid by a court, the rest of the order’s provisions will continue unaffected.
After signing the order, Trump took to Truth Social to argue that his action constitutes the largest single election integrity effort in U.S. history.
“We believe that this Executive Order is the farthest-reaching executive action taken in the history of the republic to Secure our Elections,” said Trump.
Last year, the Maine Wire uncovered records that showed individuals described as non-citizens in Medicaid records were registered to vote in the state, leading to a push for increased election integrity. It remains unclear how individuals came to be described in Medicaid records as non-citizens while also managing to register to vote.
Whether Maine will ultimately comply with the order prior to the 2025 and 2026 elections is up Maine’s all-Democrat leaders. But Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) has demonstrated a willingness to resist the president in the past, even at the risk of losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding, on his order demanding that men not be allowed to compete in women’s sports.
Even if the state refuses to comply, Mainers will still have a chance at voting for increased election integrity measures in the form of universal voter ID requirements. That initiative will be on the ballot in November.
Thanks to a successful citizens’ initiative from the Dinner Table PAC, founded by the embattled State Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn), Maine voters will be able to decide in November whether people should have to provide identification before voting.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="37176 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=37176">4 Comments
This is good, of course it’ll be challenged but that’s the point. No longer can politicians hide behind weasel words, everything will be on record for the voters to see during the next election. Lets see, so far democrats have voted NO for lower taxes, removing men from woman’s locker rooms, removing illegal criminals, removing waste, fraud and abuse from government and so on,,, Now assuming younger people can actually read and comprehend the next election should be a full sweep.
Very simple, show your id, sign your name and vote, an honest election will be something new in the state. About time! C’mon man!
Wise up Janet and company. 88 million
citizens voted for President Trump’s policies NOT YOUR WICKED MARXIST IDEOLOGY! Your feelings are not FACTS!
I voted in Maine for many many years and until 2018 it was simple. Go to the polls, prove my residency in the town I voted, cast my ballot. Simple! Prior to 2018 I always felt my vote was accurately counted. Then the RCV shenanigans began! There has never been a fair election in Maine since 2018, if the race is even close the Democrats will cheat a way to win that election!
I could not agree more with President Trumps Order, but I now vote in a free election state where I have to show my ID when I check into the polls. The way it should be.