Democrats Abroad condemns Donald Trump’s Executive Order attacking voters.
This order is a blatant attempt to suppress millions of absentee and mail-in votes—including those of overseas Americans. Trump vastly oversteps his authority in his attempt to overrule state and federal law. This EO, and the Republican House’s massive voter disenfranchisement bill, the SAVE Act, are a multi-pronged attack on American’s right to vote. And by singling out military and overseas voters to make voting more difficult for them, Trump once again shows his callous disregard for the men and women who serve our nation.
The Executive Order demands that states adopt documentary proof-of-citizenship requirements, threatens to cut funding for any state that allows absentee ballots to be received after Election Day, and also orders that the Federal Postcard Application be updated to include proof of citizenship and prior state residency. But the fact is, only citizens can vote–and it is already a crime for non-citizens to vote in U.S. elections. These measures aren’t about voter integrity; they’re about making it harder to register and severely over burdening election offices.
We call on Congress to stand up against this flagrant effort by Trump to disenfranchise voters, undermine fair elections in the United States, and trample on state rights. We look forward to participating in court cases against this EO. And we urge U.S. voters abroad to not be discouraged and keep up the fight to save our votes.