Illinois Democrats condemn Trump’s executive order as voting rights attack

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — Illinois Democrats are calling President Donald Trump’s executive order to overhaul the U.S. election process an “attack on Illinois’ electoral process.”

On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order which would voters to show proof that they are U.S. citizens before they can register for federal elections, count only mail or absentee ballots received by Election Day, set new rules for voting equipment and prohibit non-U.S. citizens from being able to donate in certain elections.

If states refuse to collaborate with federal law enforcement to prosecute election crimes, they could potentially lose out on federal grants, the order says.

“We will not blindly follow illegal orders because Donald Trump wrote them down on a piece of paper. Illinois follows the laws of the land – not the decrees of an aspiring king hell bent on disenfranchising millions of voters who deserve to have their voice heard,” said Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.

“In the face of these attacks on voting rights, Illinois will continue to administer free and fair elections while standing up for strong, secure, and accessible democracy,” he added.

“When Illinoisans go to the polls, they must have confidence that their vote will be counted quickly and accurately. Instead of engaging Congress or working with the states, Donald Trump is attempting to hand down illegal orders to interfere with our electoral process and potentially disenfranchise millions of people,” Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford) said. “This new effort comes after years of promoting bizarre, false election conspiracy theories, eroding trust in our democracy and its civic institutions.”

Republicans have defended that measure as necessary to restore public confidence in elections. Voting in federal elections by noncitizens is already illegal and can result in felony charges and deportation.

Voting rights groups have expressed concerns that the requirement could disenfranchise people. An estimated 9% of U.S. citizens of voting age, or 21.3 million people, do not have proof of citizenship readily available, according to a 2023 report by the Brennan Center for Justice and other groups.

There are also concerns that married women who have changed their names will encounter trouble when trying to register because their birth certificates list their maiden names. Such hiccups happened in recent town elections in New Hampshire, which has a new state law requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote.

Trump’s order calls on the Election Assistance Commission to amend voting system guidelines to protect election integrity, including guidance that voting systems should not use a ballot that uses a barcode or QR code in the vote counting process. It said the commission should condition the funding it distributes to states on those new guidelines.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.