Overview
- The Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Governors Association, and Sen. Chuck Schumer filed suit Thursday after Tuesday's executive order told federal agencies to create state-by-state lists of verified U.S. citizens.
- The order instructs the U.S. Postal Service to send and return ballots only for people on state-approved lists and to use envelopes with unique barcodes, even though USPS is governed by an independent board.
- It authorizes Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate and prosecute officials who issue ballots to ineligible voters and threatens to withhold federal funds from states that do not comply.
- Election-law experts say courts are likely to block the directive and warn that the DHS SAVE database can misidentify citizens, which makes any nationwide rollout before the midterms unlikely.
- State election chiefs in Oregon, Arizona, and Maine pledged legal challenges and noncompliance, arguing the Constitution leaves election rules to the states and that new limits could confuse voters who rely on mail ballots.