President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that attempts to tighten mail-in voting rules across the country. Arizona officials say they will challenge the order in court.
The executive order directs the Department of Homeland Security to work with the Social Security Administration to compile a list of eligible voters.
It also directs the United States Postal Service to deliver ballots only to people enrolled in state-level early ballot programs and puts restrictions on what kind of envelopes can be used.
Arizona’s Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes claimed the move is nothing more than an attempt to weaponize voter information and said he is working with Attorney General Kris Mayes on a lawsuit.
“States run elections, and the Congress can pass some laws regarding them, but this is not the president’s business. He needs to mind his own,” Fontes said.
In a statement, Mayes said the constitution lets states run elections and that 80% of voters do so by mail.
“This is just an effort by Donald Trump to commandeer states’ election processes and to undermine mail in voting which as everybody knows in Arizona is incredibly popular and incredibly effective,” Mayes said.
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