What You Need to Know About the New Executive Order on Voting
April 1, 2025 | by Priya Elangovan
In March 2025, President Donald Trump signed a new executive order called Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections. The order intends to make elections more secure, but it actually makes voting harder for some people, especially women who have changed their names, military families, and Americans living abroad.
Tougher Rules for Registering to Vote
If you want to register to vote, you must show a passport or a birth certificate. This is a big change because more common IDs like driver’s licenses were enough. Not everyone has a passport, and getting a birth certificate can be a hassle involving trips to government offices.
Who Gets Hit the Hardest?
Married women who changed their names may have a hard time registering to vote. There are about 69 million women who could now need extra paperwork to prove their identity. This could discourage them from registering to vote at all.
Military members and their families and people living outside the U.S. must also prove their citizenship every time they want to register to vote. This adds extra steps and could discourage these voters, too.
Side Note: What is the Election Assistance Commission?
The Election Assistance Commission, an independent, bipartisan commission created to help election administrators since 2002, helps with these issues. But this new order could overwhelm them.
Mail-In Voting Gets Harder, Too
The new rules also target mail-in voting, telling the Justice Department to go after states that count votes that come in after Election Day, even if they were mailed on time. Democratic and Republican-leaning states like California, Texas, Ohio, and New York, where late-arriving ballots are currently accepted, could be forced to stop this practice or face legal trouble.
What Does This Mean for You?
These changes could end up in court, as they push the limits of what the President can enforce without overstepping legal boundaries. The results of these legal battles will shape voting, but it might take a while to see how everything turns out.
What Can You Do?
Right now, the best thing to do is to ensure you’re ready to vote and stay informed about this Executive Order’s implementation. Check your registration, make sure your documents are in order, and know the rules in your state. If you’re passionate about voting rights, talking to your representatives could make a big difference. They can help ensure everyone has a fair chance to vote by making laws clearer and providing the necessary funds to support these changes.
Sources/Learn More
The Institute for Responsive Government’s analysis of the Executive Order responsivegov.org,
CBS News reporting on the similar SAVE Act cbsnews.com
Center for American Progress research on the SAVE Act and other similar laws impacts on women voters americanprogress.org
Full text of the Executive Order via the White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/preserving-and-protecting-the-integrity-of-american-elections/
