Washington DC: US President Donald Trump has announced plans to issue an executive order requiring voter identification for all federal and state elections, a move legal experts say is almost certain to face constitutional challenges.
Trump stated that, “Voter ID must be part of every single vote. No exceptions! I will be issuing an executive order to that end.” Trump also pledged to ban voting by mail except for military personnel and individuals with serious illnesses.
Under the US Constitution, states hold primary authority to control elections, while Congress can pass election laws. The presidency, however, has no direct authority to mandate voting rules, setting up a likely legal clash if Trump moves forward.
Trump’s push comes with his continued, baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Trump has also falsely asserted that the US is the only country allowing mail-in voting, despite dozens of nations offering the option. Notably, Trump himself has cast ballots by mail in past elections.
In the 2024 elections, 14 states and Washington DC saw more than 30 percent of votes cast by mail. Trump carried half of those states, including Utah, where Republican-run elections recorded a 91.5 percent mail-in turnout.
Currently, 36 US states require voters to show identification at polling stations. The Brennan Centre for Justice notes that up to 11 percent of eligible voters lack acceptable forms of ID, with higher rates among seniors, minorities, low-income individuals, students, and people with disabilities.
A similar effort by Trump earlier this year was struck down by a federal judge, who ruled that requiring proof of citizenship risked disenfranchising millions of Americans. Many do not possess passports or easily accessible birth certificates, while married women often face mismatches between citizenship documents and current legal names.
Analysts warn that enforcing such an executive order could impact tens of millions of voters each election cycle, particularly those registering for the first time or updating voter records. An estimated 146 million American citizens do not hold US passports.
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