President Donald Trump wants to require voters to prove their citizenship in future elections but experts say that is outside of his authority. Time will tell - they should.
The president signed an executive order last week to make changes to the U.S. election system, including a proof-of-citizenship requirement. According to Trump, the goal is to end election fraud. he executive order directs the Election Assistance Commission to require voters to provide government-issued proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. Documents that meet the criteria include a U.S. passport, a REAL ID that indicates citizenship, an official military identification card or a valid federal or state government-issued photo I.D. that indicates citizenship.
The U.S. attorney general is directed to prioritize prosecuting crimes related to non-citizen voting. Ballots received after Election Day are not to be counted. Trump's executive order aims to curb voting from ineligible people, including noncitizens. Arizona enacted a proof-of-citizenship requirement in 2022. Last year the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it does not apply to federal elections because it would violate the U.S. Constitution. In February, the 9th Circuit of Appeals ruled the state's proof-of-citizenship laws are a voter suppression measure.
"If a state adopts proof of citizenship, there are definitely thousands, if not tens of thousands of people in the state that will not have access to the required documents in a timely way," Bob Brandon, founder of the Fair Elections Center, told UPI. "That means otherwise eligible people would not be able to vote." Noncitizen voting has been banned in the United States for more than 100 years. It is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and can result in deportation.
Noncitizen voting is also rare. Last week, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announced the results of the state's audit of the 2024 general election. It found that out of 1.67 million votes cast, 35 were cast by noncitizens. A 2022 report by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said there were 1,634 cases of potential noncitizens registering to vote between 1997 and 2022. The registrants were blocked from voting due to Georgia's citizenship check law.