Oregon Battles Trump’s Bold Move to End Mail-In Voting and Slash Federal Election Funds

President Donald Trump, known for his election rigging allegations that began when he lost to Joe Biden in 2020, this week signed an executive order mandating that voters provide documentary proof of their U.S. citizenship.

Voters will have to produce a passport, government-issued ID, or birth certificate to prove their eligibility to vote.

Oregon Will Be Stripped of its Mail-In Ballots

His order introduces changes that will impact how states run federal elections, including stripping Oregon and other states from including mail-in ballots postmarked by election day.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, there are 18 states plus Puerto Rico that accept mail-in ballots after polls close on election day, provided they are postmarked on or before that date. Oregon, however, accepts mail-in votes postmarked by election day but receives them no longer than seven days after.

States That Fail to Comply Will Not Receive Federal Funding

As states across the country try to fathom solutions for the lack of federal funding frozen by the Trump administration, the President’s new executive order instructs the Election Assistance Commission to withhold funds to states that do not comply with the new requirements.

The Trump administration has also ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to ramp up its efforts to prosecute election-related crimes, including election interference and voter fraud.

However, as with most of his executive orders, this latest ruling will not go unchallenged, eliciting comment by Oregon Governor Tina Kotek who reminds that it is states, and not the President, that are sanctioned with the responsibility to run elections. Kotek has vowed to fight to protect Oregon’s hard-won democracy.

According to the U.S. Constitution, states have the primary authority to run elections, although Congress is empowered to regulate voting.