Trump signs election order calling for proof of US citizenship to vote

Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday that would require voters to prove they are U.S. citizens and attempts to prevent states from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day.

The sweeping order also would seek to take federal funding away from states that do not comply.

Trump has long questioned the U.S. electoral system and continues to falsely claim that his 2020 loss to Democratic President Joe Biden was the result of widespread fraud. The president and his Republican allies also have made baseless claims about widespread voting by non-citizens, which is illegal and rarely occurs.

Last year the Republican-controlled House of Representatives approved a bill that would ban non-citizens from registering to vote in federal elections, a practice that is already illegal. It did not pass the Senate, which was then controlled by Democrats.

The White House's order seeks to achieve similar goals. Voting rights groups argued that it, like the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act that did not become law, would disenfranchise voters, particularly people of color, who do not have access to passports or other required identification.

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«We've got to straighten out our elections,» Trump said on Tuesday as he signed the order at the White House. «This country is so sick because of the elections, the fake elections and the bad elections, we're going to straighten that out one way or the other.»

The order is likely to draw legal challenges.

«This is a blatant attack on democracy and an authoritarian power grab,» said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of advocacy group Public Citizen.

In recent years Republicans have tried to put more restrictions on voting, while Democrats have sought to make it