Trump signs an executive order to create federal voter lists
Trump’s new executive order tries to use federal databases and the Postal Service to reshape state-run voter eligibility and mail-ballot delivery—an aggressive move experts expect courts to stop.
Mar 31, 2026
Sources
Summary
President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing DHS to compile “state citizenship lists” from federal records and asking USPS to deliver mail ballots only to people on those lists.
NBC News frames it as another attempt to assert federal control over elections and flags likely constitutional problems, but leaves unclear what (if anything) would practically change in states’ existing voter-roll maintenance and ballot-mailing processes.
The story matters because the order tests how far a president can go—without Congress—to pressure states and federal agencies into election administration rules that could affect voter access and trust.
Reality Check
The president cannot unilaterally rewrite state election administration through an executive order: the Constitution gives states primary responsibility for running elections, and Congress (not the president acting alone) is the federal actor with power to “make or alter” many election regulations for federal elections. (constitution.congress.gov)
Even if the order is implemented inside the executive branch, the biggest operational questions are unresolved (and likely litigated): how DHS would reliably match citizenship data to state voter files without errors, and how USPS could be made to screen ballot delivery based on eligibility lists without conflicting with state election law and postal operations.
Detail
On Tuesday, March 31, 2026, Trump signed an executive order aimed at building voter-eligibility lists using federal data and tying USPS mail-ballot delivery to those lists.
The order directs the Department of Homeland Security to create “state citizenship lists” using federal citizenship/naturalization records, Social Security records, and other federal databases.
The order contemplates sending these lists to states to help verify voter rolls.
The order also asks USPS to transmit mail ballots only to people addressed on those citizenship lists, effectively pushing USPS into an election-eligibility screening role.
NBC News reports the order is expected to be challenged quickly, citing the Constitution’s allocation of election rulemaking primarily to states (with some authority for Congress).
Election administration experts quoted by NBC News predict courts will deem the order unconstitutional or block it swiftly.
NBC News notes internal involvement by Kurt Olsen (White House election security and integrity director) and Heather Honey (DHS senior role), both connected to post-2020 election efforts.
The article points to Trump’s continued false claim that he won the 2020 election as background for why he is pursuing mail-voting restrictions and federalized election policy.
NBC News notes a prior Trump election-related executive order (from March 2025) had many provisions blocked by courts, suggesting similar legal vulnerability for this order.
The piece situates the order alongside Trump’s push for the SAVE Act, which would impose proof-of-citizenship requirements through legislation but has faced a higher bar in the Senate. (congress.gov)