Representative Greg Stanton (D-AZ) is spearheading a letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, demanding the Department of Justice (DOJ) reject President Donald Trump's recent executive order concerning elections, calling it "a gross overreach of the federal government."
The new executive order issued by Trump calls for the creation of lists of U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote in each state, instructing the U.S. Postal Service to send mail ballots only to verified voters, evidently to secure mail-in voting.
"The Constitution is clear: states have oversight of elections while Congress has the power to establish national standards for them," Rep. Stanton's letter challenges. "The Constitution does not give the president unilateral authority over how voting is conducted. In your role as the chief legal officer for the Executive Branch, we urge you to reject this unconstitutional executive order and protect sensitive voter information."
Additionally, Rep. Stanton noted that Arizona's mail-in and early voting system was created by Republicans in 1991, and 85% of ballots cast in Arizona for the 2024 Election were done early or by mail, especially since Arizona is already extremely hot.
The new executive order, the Arizona congressman alleges, will "make it harder for people to cast a ballot."
"States like Arizona have the systems in place to ensure every eligible voter has the opportunity to make their voices heard on election day," Stanton highlighted. "The executive order the president signed yesterday does just the opposite."
Last April, Representative Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) introduced legislation codifying a previous election integrity executive order issued by Trump, which called for more rigorous proof of citizenship in voter registration forms, chiefly government-issued IDs.
A second provision was that the State and Homeland Security Departments and Social Security must allow states to access Federal databases to verify the eligibility of people registering to vote.
