NC Voting Rights Groups Say Trump’s EO On Elections Would ‘Disenfranchise Millions’

Last week, President Trump signed an executive order, which the administration claims is to protect election integrity. However, legal scholars and voting rights groups are calling the order alarming and unconstitutional and believe it could disenfranchise millions of voters. 

According to Brookings, Trump’s order on election integrity would “require” the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to modify the federal voting form to require documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC), as opposed to current eligibility requirements passed by Congress. The order would also allow the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to subpoena voting records, which could deter voters from registering because of privacy concerns.

A coalition of Voting Rights groups in North Carolina issued a statement condemning the Trump administration’s order and vowing to fight him and his detrimental policies. 

“Tuesday’s executive order signed by Donald Trump is not just an overreach; it is an alarming unconstitutional escalation in the ongoing effort to suppress the right to vote and silence the will of the people,” the group wrote. “This order threatens to disenfranchise millions by not only making it harder to register to vote but also to stay registered to vote by targeting those who already face systemic barriers: rural communities, poor and low-wage voters, women, Black, Latino, Indigenous, and immigrant communities across the South and beyond.”

The coalition also said the order would do way more harm to low-income communities than good.

“By purporting to force voters to provide a passport as documented proof of citizenship to register, while threatening to strip federal funds from states that count every valid ballot, this executive order creates additional barriers for rural, poor, low English proficiency and low-wealth voters who oftentimes already do not have equal access to the resources required to obtain such documentation.”

They continued, “This is a targeted attack on a just, representative, multiracial democracy and a direct continuation of a long history of racialized voter suppression in the South. From poll taxes to literacy tests to modern-day voter ID laws, the goal has always been the same: to keep power in the hands of the few by silencing the many. In this coalition, we are sounding the alarm. This executive order is a threat to democracy, to our right to self-govern, and to the promise of an equal voice in our future. We know how this story goes — and we refuse to let history repeat itself.”

Statements above from: Advance Carolina, Common Cause North Carolina, Democracy NC, Forward Justice, Forward Justice Action Network, NAACP North Carolina State Conference, NC Black Alliance, North Carolina For The People Action, North Carolina Poor People’s Campaign, and Southern Coalition for Social Justice

SEE ALSO:

Could Trump Stay In Power Or Run For A 3rd Term?

Donald Trump Is Destroying America As Democrats Post On Social Media

Read more