DENVER — Denver7 talked to DU Professor Ian Farrell, a legal and political expert, about how President Donald Trump’s executive order to change how elections are run will impact Colorado.
One part that is getting a lot of attention, is the requirement to prove citizenship when voting in federal elections.
“The purported reason for this being in the executive order is to prevent widespread voter fraud in the form of non-citizens from voting,” Professor Farrell said. “The problem is that basically never happens. The number of times that people vote without being citizens is vanishingly small.”
The president said, he is focused on election security. He also wants to change mail-in ballot deadlines and equipment.
Farrell has looked into what’s listed as an acceptable documentation to prove citizenship and if they're the kinds of documents that people have on hand.
“Only about half of Americans have a passport and state issued IDs, like driver's licenses, generally don't state whether someone is a citizen,” Professor Farrell said.
As for birth certificates, he said it doesn’t have a photo and it’s not clear if it would be accepted with another form of ID at this point.
Multiple experts across the country are looking at U.S. law to determine if the president has the authority to make these changes.
“The law is pretty clear on this. The elections clause of the Constitution in Article One, Section four, authorizes state legislatures to determine the times, places and manner of elections,” Professor Farrell said. “Now that clause also authorizes Congress to make additional rules or change those rules, but nowhere does it give the president authority to do so.”
Colorado state leaders are also pushing back. The Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said this is unlawful and chaotic.
"It has the potential of making it harder for millions and millions and millions of Americans all across the country to register to vote,” Griswold said, adding it will “disproportionately likely affect people of color working and the middle class and women.”
The executive order is expected to be challenge in court, which could put these changes in limbo for a long time.
It’s not the first time a president has issued an election-related executive order, the Associated Press reports. In 2021, former President Joe Biden issued one directing federal agencies to take steps to promote voting access — earning him criticism from Republicans who argued it was unconstitutional and exceeded his authority. Trump rescinded that order earlier this year.
State election officials and attorneys general had mixed responses, with several Republicans applauding the order and its promise to share federal citizenship data with states to help them identify noncitizens on their voter rolls.
Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, a Republican who has gained a national profile for pushing back against baseless election conspiracy theories, said in a statement that Trump’s order “makes points that states should have been doing for years.”
*The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related prior coverage:
- Colorado leaders push back against Trump's executive order requiring proof of citizenship in federal elections
- Trump signs executive order mandating proof of citizenship for voters
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