Atlanta (AP) – President Donald Trump executive decree Trying to change How the American elections are executed Create an uncertainty for managers of the elections of states and premises and concerns about the confusion of voters before the next federal elections, the middle of 2026.
Electoral officials were already faced with Loss of cybersecurity assistance of the federal government and is now faced with the potential of major changes This includes a new requirement to register voters, the award of certain voting systems and the stretch voting times for many states.
In Connecticut, State Secretary, Stephanie Thomas, hopes that the voting scanners that the State has just bought for $ 20 million will be acceptable under the decree, but she is worried about the other states.
“It is not as if the states had millions and millions of dollars that they can simply improve their electoral equipment every two years,” said Thomas, a Democrat. “Imagine that people have bought new equipment and now it can no longer be used. There is no remedy for that in order.”
Because Trump’s order is likely to deal with legal challengesWe do not know what will be necessary and when. This means more uncertainty for electoral officials.
“I have no idea of the calendar for things in the decree,” said Joseph Kirk, who oversees the elections in Bartow County, Georgia. “I really hope that we have a certain clarity on some of these things soon because it doesn’t matter the answers, I have to take care of my voters.”
The order inserts the federal government into the electoral operations of the State
Trump on Tuesday, Trump criticized the work of electoral officials across the country and praised the way other nations are carrying out their elections. Trump has long questioned the integrity of the American elections, wrongly claim after his White House victory in 2016When the Republican won the electoral college but lost the popular vote with the Democrat Hillary Clinton, that his support would have been higher, if not a large number of non-citizens’ votes in California.
Asset Continue to claim His defeat in 2020 against Democrat Joe Biden is the result of a “fake” election. There is No proof of generalized fraud And No evidence that voting systems have been handledwith several criticism To the States, where Trump challenged the result confirming his loss.
In the years that followed, electoral officials in many regions of the United States have endured harassment and threatsA dam of Registration requests by skeptical groups about their work and legislative changes Pushed by state legislators who support new restrictions are necessary to restore public confidence.
The order of Trump, combined with recent decisions by his administration in break some cybersecurity work And draw off For a dedicated network sharing network for electoral offices, has aroused concerns about the role of the federal government in the elections in the future.
“States organize our elections, but the federal government has been an important partner to help electoral officials,” Larry Norden, electoral security expert at Brennan Center for Justice, said. “To be a partner, you have to trust yourself. You must provide consistency and certainty. The last months have completely destroyed this. ”
Concerns concerning the requirement to prove American citizenship
One of the main changes described in the decree is a requirement for people to show documentary evidence of American citizenship when they register to vote. This is something that Republicans in Congress Pushed last year at Trump’s requestBut the effort was blocked in the middle of the democratic opposition in the Senate.
House Republicans Plan to try again With the Safeguard American Voting Act Act, known as Save Act. A chamber committee is expected to discuss the bill on Monday.
After the decree, several Republicans who are high electoral officials of the State have published declarations renting provisions which direct the federal agencies to help states to verify the eligibility for voters and citizenship. Their democratic counterparts were more critical.
Voting rights groups raise concerns concerning the requirement of citizenship. They say that millions of Americans do not have easily access to their birth certificates, only about half have American passports, and married women would need several documents if they had changed their names.
Although voting by non-citizens occurs, it generally implies A small fraction of voting bulletins And it’s more often an individual error Rather than an intentional and coordinated attempt to reverse an election. This can also lead to crime accusations and expulsion. According to Trump’s order, the burden would be the responsibility of electoral officials to implement this requirement. Experts say that it would be expensive and that there is no additional federal money to help pay it.
“He creates a whole new bureaucracy in each state for the collection of this data, for the storage of this data and for the recovery of this data,” said David Becker, a former lawyer of the Ministry of Justice who directs the Center for Election Innovation & Research. “You don’t signal a magic wand and do that.”
Growing risk of voters confusion
Kate Sweeney Bell, who oversees the elections in the county of Marion de l’In Indiana, said that she does not expect major problems in her state, because he has restrictive voting laws which, according to her, led to a part of the lowest participation rate of the country. She is concerned, however, of the rest of the United States and the quantity of public education which will be necessary to ensure that voters are aware of the modifications made.
“I think that for all the other states that do not have the prohibitive laws that Indiana makes, because it is a rough couple of electoral cycles when changes like this are made,” said Sweeney Bell.
A challenge is the probability that prolonged legal battles delay the clarity of electoral and public officials.
“If electoral officials are not sure of the rules, there is no doubt that voters will not understand them – the creation of mistrust in the process and, ultimately, the validity of the result,” said Ryan Macias, expert in elections and voting systems.
The uncertainty comes as electoral officials are preparing for the 2026 elections. Dean Logan, who oversees the elections in the County of Los Angeles, said that the publication of a successful election depends on in-depth planning, formed workforce and appropriate equipment.
“Last-minute changes or unilateral mandates considerably increase the risk of confusion of voters and operational inconsistencies and can erode the confidence of voters,” he said.
Order could cause changes to voting machines, without paying it
Trump’s order also targets voting systems in a way that could force certain counties to change machines without offering additional money to help them pay for this. He heads the American Elections Assistance Commission, an independent and bipartite agency created by the Congress, to modify voluntary standards for voting systems to prohibit devices that use a barcode or QR code on voting bulletins, with an exception for those designated for disabled voters.
The order provides for the Commission within 180 days to examine, rectify if necessary and cancel “all previous certifications of voting equipment according to previous standards”. Beyond the legality of the order, experts affirm that the federal law describes specific procedures and periods of public comments to update standards.
Although there are voting systems that do not use barcodes, the process for states to replace the equipment take time, said Mark Lindeman, director of policy and strategy by verified vote, which focuses on electoral technology. Electoral offices must obtain the approval to spend on new voting systems, go through a supply process, wait for manufacturers to provide equipment and end up training workers on how to use it.
“It is difficult for any state to obtain and obtain and test new voting systems, and if there was a crazy rush for many states to replace their voting systems at the same time, we do not know how many systems manufacturers could provide,” said Lindeman.
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The writer Associated Press Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this story.
