President Donald Trump issued a 12-page executive order on elections Tuesday. The order includes provisions requiring documentary proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections and requiring ballots to be received by Election Day.
Within the order, a section directs states to enter into an “information-sharing agreement” with the Attorney General regarding “suspected violations of state and federal elections laws.” It also requires states to provide basic information related to voter-roll maintenance to the Department of Justice.
The order states that if a state is unwilling to enter into such an agreement, the Attorney General may “review for potential withholding of grants and other funds that the Department awards and distributes, in the Department’s discretion, to State and local governments for law enforcement and other purposes, as consistent with applicable law.” Election experts told TPM this could result in state election officials losing funding needed to run elections if they do not agree to share information with DOJ, including data related to “election fraud” and duplicate voter registrations.