Nebraska Officials Respond to Trump Executive Order on Elections
by Matt Johnson
(Picture credit Matt Johnson)
OMAHA — Earlier this week, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” which would place new restrictions on mail-in voting.
Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, often a critic of President Trump, does not believe the order will withstand judicial scrutiny.
“I think it will be challenged in courts and will likely be halted,” Bacon said. “For the most part, the Constitution gives power to conduct elections to the states. Many like early and mail-in balloting.”
Bacon said that election offices counting ballots after Election Day still pose a problem for public confidence. “I do think that states that are still counting ballots a week after an election is bad and undermines the process,” Bacon said.
Secretary of State Bob Evnen says the order will not affect Nebraska’s primary election next month. Nebraska’s first wave of mail-in ballots for the May 12 primary is set to go out starting Monday, April 6. Evnen noted that Nebraska will monitor implementation for the November general election.
The executive order directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in coordination with the Social Security Administration, to compile lists of verified U.S. citizens of voting age and share them with state election officials.
It also directs the U.S. Postal Service to establish uniform standards for mail-in and absentee ballots, including requiring special “Official Election Mail” envelopes with unique tracking barcodes. Under the order, USPS would transmit ballots only to individuals on state-provided eligible voter lists.
“The cheating on mail-in voting is legendary. It’s horrible what’s going on,” Trump said as he signed the order. “I think this will help a lot with elections.” The order comes on the heels of other directives to collect and vet voter registration information from various states.
Reaction against the executive order was swift among Democrats. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson called the order “illegal on its face,” adding that “states run elections, not the president.” Voting rights advocates and Democratic officials nationwide pledged immediate legal challenges, describing it as an unconstitutional federal overreach and a “voter suppression effort.”
— Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.