On March 25, the President put out an executive order (EO) about elections. This EO is called ““Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.”
This EO has a lot of changes about how our elections work. Including changes to who can vote, how voting by mail works, and more. This can affect disabled voters more than other votes. Disabled voters already face several barriers to voting.
Congress is already considering laws that will suppress voters, like the SAVE Act. If this act passes, it would need people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote. The SAVE Act would also make it harder for women who changed their last name after marriage.
Many voters don’t have access to documents that would meet these requirements. People with disabilities and people of color may be especially unlikely to have these documents. Needing to go in person to update your voter registration can impact people who don’t have a car. Or who are immunocompromised. It will also make it very hard to have voter registration drives. Communities who have a hard time voting will have a harder time because of this.
Contact your representatives and tell them to vote “no” on the SAVE Act.
What is an Executive Order?
Executive orders are written orders from the President that says how something should be done. An executive order can not overrule an existing law. It is very common for Presidents to write executive orders. Or even undo executive orders by other Presidents. The President cannot dismantle the entire Department of Education without approval from Congress.
Does The President Have the Power to Change Election Law With an Executive Order?
No.The President has no constitutional authority to change election laws.
The Constitution gives that power to the states and Congress. This EO directs the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to make many proposed changes. The President does not control the EAC. This EO may still have an immediate impact. It will likely cause confusion and fear among election officials and voters.
What Does the Elections Executive Order Say?
Requires proof of citizenship to vote: This EO requires proof of citizenship to vote. It also requires documented proof of citizenship to register to vote. This means that unless you have a passport, you will likely need to show additional proof you can vote. Many common documents would not be accepted. For example, birth certificates are not listed as acceptable documents.
What to Know:
- Many American citizens do not have the needed documents. People who are otherwise able to vote will not be able to
- This will impact disabled voters more. The same is true for voters of color, and even people who changed their name after getting married
- This will negatively impact disabled people more. A survey found that 20% of people who identify as disabled do not have a current driver’s license. Another 9% have one, but it does not have their current name and address.
- For people without disabilities, 6% don’t have a license, and 13% don’t have one with their current name and address.
- There was a federal court case that considered a state’s law needing proof of citizenship to vote. The case found that the law was against the Constitution.
A similar law was passed in New Hampshire which resulted in many people not being able to vote. These people would have otherwise been able to, if it were not for this law.- This policy’s supporters say it is a way to prevent voter fraud. However, noncitizens voting in federal elections is extremely rare, and the process is already heavily monitored.
Changes vote-by-mail procedures: The EO proposes that mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, even if they are postmarked with an earlier date, cannot be counted.
What to Know:
- Eighteen states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Washington D.C., accept a mailed ballot if received after Election Day, as long as it was mailed on or before Election Day.
- This is important because the United States Postal Service sometimes has delays that are not the voters’ fault. Sometimes, it may even take extra time for the ballot to reach the voter before they can fill it out and mail it back to cast their vote.
- People with disabilities are more likely to vote by mail than non-disabled voters, and because of this, more disabled voters would be at risk of having their vote not counted than non-disabled voters.
- While it may be tempting to want to be able to know the results of an election faster, we must count every vote. Taking time to make sure every vote is counted means that our system is working.
Changes voting machine types and certification processes: The EO wants to limit the types of voting machines that polling locations are allowed to use and proposes that the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) re-certify all voting systems. The EO notes an exception for accommodating people with disabilities. The EO also requires that all voting methods have a “voter-verifiable paper record.”
What to Know:
- The EAC and state election officials already go through many different processes to test voting machines and make sure machines are secure, accessible, and can be used easily and privately.
- While the EO notes that exceptions for voters with disabilities should be made, singling out how one population votes would threaten the privacy of disabled voters’ ballots and segregate disabled voters.
- Current law requires polling places to have at least one accessible voting machine. Already, disabled voters frequently face issues casting their ballot when the machine is not correctly set up, poll workers do not know how to use the machine, or if the machine breaks down and there is no other accessible way for them to cast a ballot. If the use of voting machines is further discouraged or limited through this Executive Order, these issues will increase and prevent people from accessing their right to vote.
- Requiring paper ballots would also end voting system innovation, prohibit the current uses of some Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines, and prohibit electronic ballot delivery and return. DREs provide the most accessible option for voters with disabilities to vote privately and independently. Electronic ballot delivery and return make absentee voting accessible for disabled people and allow uniform and overseas voters to participate in elections—even astronauts at the International Space Station can vote this way.
- The EO describes voter-verifiable paper records as a necessary way for voters to check their ballots, but paper ballots are not accessible to some voters with disabilities, particularly individuals who are blind, have low vision, have difficulty reading or understanding print, or cannot physically hold their ballots.
Attempts to direct an independent bipartisan entity: The EO directs the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to carry out and enforce the administration’s proposed policies.
What to Know:
- What is the Election Assistance Commission (EAC)?
- The EAC was created in 2000 through the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). It is independent and bipartisan. The EAC has four commissioners, who are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. No more than two commissioners can belong to the same political party. This is important to ensure that our elections remain fair and unbiased.
- The EAC submits reports to Congress and holds public meetings and hearings. The President does not have the power to control what the EAC does.
- The EAC also does not have the power to take some of the actions described in the order, such as requiring all states to require documentary proof of citizenship or withholding funding to states that do not follow the EO. This has been upheld in the Supreme Court.
- In the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 4, Clause 1), states have the power to set the time, place, and manner of elections. The Constitution also allows Congress to regulate how states use their authority. This has led to many federal voting rights laws like the Voting Rights Act and the Help America Vote Act. While states have differences in how people can vote, laws passed by Congress try to ensure the right to vote is consistent across the country. For example, some states allow for anyone to vote by mail, and some states limit who can vote by mail based on disability and age, but all states allow for some form of absentee or mail-in voting. Over the last 100 years, there have been many Supreme Court cases around the state’s and Congress’s role in elections.
- What does the EAC do?
- The EAC works to certify voting equipment and provide funding and resources to states to run elections.
- The EAC is also responsible for ensuring that elections are accessible for disabled people. It creates training resources for election officials, tests voting equipment, and researches voting and accessibility.
Establishes federal voter rolls: The EO directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to review state voter registration lists, specifically to verify that no ineligible voters are on them.
What to Know:
- Under current federal law, state governments and Secretaries of State are responsible for maintaining voter lists.
- DHS and DOGE likely do not have the authority to review state voter registration lists or remove voters, but attempts to do so could create a lot of fear.
- States will likely sue if DHS and DOGE attempt to access the state’s voter registration information.
Get Involved
Join our REV UP Campaign to make our democracy accessible and increase civic engagement in the disability community. REV UP stands for “Register! Educate! Vote! Use your Power!” Subscribe to REV UPdates or join a state or national call. REV UP has groups in twenty states and partners in 33, who work year-round to ensure disabled people have access to the ballot. For resources about voting as a person with a disability, visit the AAPD REV UP Campaign website.