Trump signs order on mail-in ballots and federally run voter lists
President Trump has long wanted to place additional restrictions on mail-in voting, which he has called "mail-in cheating."
Updated on: March 31, 2026 / 7:21 PM EDT / CBS News
Washington — President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday requiring states to impose stricter mail-in voting rules and directing his administration to create a list of confirmed U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote in each state.
The additional requirements, made without any action by Congress, are all but certain to face challenges in the courts. It's not clear whether or how the order will affect the midterm primary elections, which are already underway in many states.
"The cheating on mail-in voting is legendary," the president said in the Oval Office ahead of the signing. He said requiring voters to show identification and proof of citizenship will be issues for another time.
The order requires the newly confirmed Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to create a list of U.S. citizens eligible to vote in each state, using data from the Social Security Administration, a White House official told CBS News. It also says the U.S. Postal Service may only send absentee ballots to people on each state's federally prepared approved mail-in ballot list. There will be one envelope per ballot.
States that don't go along with the executive order are at risk of losing federal funding, a White House official said.