President Trump signs executive order on voter integrity, orders USPS verification

President Trump signed an executive order aimed at what he described as securing elections by providing state election officials with federal data and ordering the U.S. Postal Service to take "bold new measures" to verify mailed ballots. "Two of the biggest problems we have with election integrity in this country are... inaccurate voter rolls... and... vote by mail... ripe with fraud," said Will Scharf, the president's attorney, as he outlined the measure.

The executive order, as described at the event, directs federal agencies to share data so states can develop a "comprehensive view" of who is eligible to vote and instructs the Postmaster General to verify that ballots are sent to and returned by eligible voters. Howard Lutnick, introduced by the president as a supporter, described a technical approach: "They're going to get a code, a barcode from the U.S. Postal Service, and they're gonna put that on the envelope, and they’re gonna have one envelope per vote," he said. The president and his speakers framed the steps as exceptions for military voters and for those who are sick, traveling or disabled; they did not provide statutory citations or an implementation timetable at the event.

The signing drew partisan remarks from the president, who repeatedly accused Democratic leaders of seeking to "cheat" and said he expected legal challenges. He said he does not see an easy path for courts to overturn the order but acknowledged opponents could seek judicial review. The White House did not provide a copy of the executive order text at the event; reporters raised follow-up questions about legal basis and practical implementation that the president and his team did not fully resolve on the record.