# Executive Order 14248 — Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections Signed by [[Donald Trump]] on **March 25, 2025**, EO 14248 directs multiple federal agencies to impose documentary [[Proof of Citizenship Requirement]] on voter registration and to cross-check voter rolls against federal immigration databases. It is the executive-branch counterpart to the legislative [[SAVE Act]] — pursuing the same goal (proof of citizenship to register) through presidential directive rather than congressional action. The order targets the [[Election Assistance Commission]]'s national mail voter registration form, the standardized form created by the [[National Voter Registration Act]] that all states must accept. Under existing law, applicants attest to citizenship under penalty of perjury; the EO demands the EAC add a documentary requirement within 30 days. ## Key provisions **Section 2(a)** directs the [[Election Assistance Commission]] to "take appropriate action to require, in its national mail voter registration form," documentary proof of U.S. citizenship — passports, birth certificates, naturalization papers, or Real ID-compliant documents. **Section 2(b)** orders the [[Department of Homeland Security]] and the State Department to provide state and local election officials access to federal citizenship-verification databases, including the SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) database. **Section 2(c)** instructs DHS and DOGE to compare state voter-registration records against federal immigration databases to identify potential noncitizens on the rolls. **Section 3** directs the Attorney General to prioritize prosecution of noncitizen voting — despite studies consistently showing noncitizen voting in federal elections is vanishingly rare, estimated at 0.0001% of ballots cast. **Section 4(b)** turns to voting equipment. It directs that systems "not use a ballot in which a vote is contained within a barcode or quick-response code in the vote counting process except where necessary to accommodate individuals with disabilities," and tells the [[Election Assistance Commission]] to review and rescind affected certifications within 180 days. See [[Ballot Marking Device]]. ## Legal challenges Courts moved quickly. In April 2025, the D.C. District Court granted a partial preliminary injunction in *LULAC v. Executive Office of the President*, pausing several provisions. The [[ACLU]], [[LULAC]], and the [[Brennan Center for Justice]] were among the plaintiffs. In June 2025, the Massachusetts District Court issued a broader injunction in *California v. Trump*, blocking additional provisions in litigation brought by a multistate coalition of Democratic attorneys general. That injunction shows up inside ICE's own files: a July 7, 2026 HSI report says Michigan and New Mexico voter-roll data, already enriched for entry into Palantir's ELITE targeting system, was "pending legal review in compliance with Court Order State of California v. Trump." See [[ICE Voter Records Collection]]. On **January 9, 2026**, in a separate suit by Washington and Oregon, Judge John H. Chun (W.D. Wash.) held the barcode directive unlawful because it dictates an outcome Congress left to the EAC's own process, and permanently enjoined it as to those two states. The core legal issue: the [[National Voter Registration Act]] explicitly prohibits requiring documentary proof of citizenship on the federal registration form. The EO attempts to override a statutory prohibition by executive fiat — a direct test of whether the president can unilaterally rewrite the terms of voter registration established by Congress. ## Strategic context The EO fits a multi-pronged strategy: the [[SAVE Act]] pushes proof-of-citizenship through Congress, the EO directs it through executive action, and [[America First Legal]]'s July 2025 petition to the EAC pursues it through administrative rulemaking. All three paths converge on the same goal — adding barriers to voter registration that disproportionately affect eligible citizens who lack ready access to documentary proof. Research from the [[Brennan Center for Justice]] estimates that roughly 9% of eligible voters do not have easy access to the required documents, with disproportionate impact on low-income voters, elderly voters, voters of color, and naturalized citizens. The EO also laid the groundwork for the July 2026 dismantling of the [[Election Assistance Commission]]. When the EAC's commissioners declined to comply with the 30-day directive — correctly noting that the order conflicted with their statutory obligations under the [[National Voter Registration Act]] — they became targets. [[Stephen Miller]]'s [[America First Legal]] had already filed the formal petition to force the change through rulemaking. When the courts and the agency both resisted, the administration took the direct route: fire the commissioners. ## See Also - [[Election Assistance Commission]] - [[Proof of Citizenship Requirement]] - [[SAVE Act]] - [[National Voter Registration Act]] - [[Help America Vote Act]] - [[Voter Suppression]] - [[America First Legal]]