Washington – Common Cause and our 1.5 million members demand that Congress and state legislatures reject President Donald Trump’s attempted federal takeover of elections through executive order today and to fight back against any attempts to restrict Congressionally appropriated funds for elections.

On Tuesday, President Trump released an executive order that attempts to put the White House in charge of elections by instituting unreasonable limits on when ballots can be counted and how to verify eligible voters. The executive order claims to block funding for elections for states who do not comply, despite the unknown legality of the order.

Here are just a few ways Trump is trying to control state elections.    

• Vote By Mail would be severely restricted, making it harder for seniors, rural voters, and disabled voters to cast a ballot.  

• If your mail ballot is postmarked on election day but arrives later, it would be thrown out – even if you put it in the mail on time. 

“A president does not set election law and never will. Trump’s executive action is an attempt to take away our right to vote or make it so hard that we don’t participate. The people reject these tactics. Common Cause and our members will fight voter suppression wherever it shows up, including in the White House, because voting is a right for the many, not a selected few. This executive order will not stand,” said Virginia Kase Solomón, Common Cause President and CEO.