Trump Signs Order Changing Election Rules: What That Means For RI

RHODE ISLAND — President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a sweeping executive order overhauling U.S. elections, including requiring proof of citizenship to register and vote in federal elections. The move is almost certain to be challenged because the Constitution gives states broad authority over elections.

Trump’s order, which also requires that all ballots be received by Election Day, says the nation has “failed to enforce basic and necessary election protections.” It calls on states to work with federal agencies to share voter lists and prosecute election crimes, and threatens to pull federal funding from states where election officials don’t comply.

In Rhode Island, you need a valid ID to vote. Accepted IDs include:

• Valid Rhode Island Voter ID Card with Photo
• Valid Federal Issued ID
• Valid Military ID
• Valid Rhode Island Driver's License
• Valid Student ID
• Government Issued Medical Card
• Valid US Passport
• Valid Rhode Island Issued ID.

To register to vote in Rhode Island you should provide one of the following:

• Last Four Digits of your Social Security Number
• Your Rhode Island Driver's License Number
• Your Rhode Island ID Number

If you do not have any of these IDs, you will be required to provide ID to an election official before voting the first time. Acceptable forms of ID include:

• Valid Employee ID
• Valid Student ID
• Debit or Credit Card
• Medicare
• University Tuition Bill
• Public Housing ID Card
• Government Check
• Valid Rhode Island Voter ID Card
• Bank Statement
• Paycheck that Shows your Current Name and Address
• Medicaid Card issued by the government
• Health Club ID Card
• Valid US Passport
• Valid Rhode Island issued ID
• Valid Military ID
• ID Card provided by a commercial establishment
• University Housing Bill
• Insurance Plan ID Card
• Valid Federal issued ID
• Utility Bill.

For mail-in ballots, they must be received by the Rhode Island Board of Elections by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Swift constitutional challenges are expected. Article I of the nation’s founding charter gives states, not the federal government, authority over the “times, places and manner” of how elections are run.

A new state law in New Hampshire requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register and vote recently prevented at least two people from having their say in town and school elections. Their experiences, recounted by town clerks, could prove instructive for the rest of the country as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act advances in Congress and more than a dozen states consider similar legislation.

“Everything that conservatives tried to downplay, New Hampshire told us exactly what would happen on a national scale under the SAVE Act,” Greta Bedekovics, a former policy adviser for Senate Democrats who is now with the Center for American Progress, told The Associated Press earlier this month.

Voting groups worry that women who have married and changed their names will encounter difficulty registering to vote because their birth certificates have their maiden names. In Derry, New Hampshire, Brooke Yonge, a 45-year-old hair stylist, was turned away from a school election because she didn’t have proof of citizenship and then again because the name on her birth certificate didn’t match her married name on her driver’s license. Yonge eventually had to show her marriage license.

The nearly two dozen states considering proof of citizenship voting laws are: Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Trump has often claimed elections are being rigged, even before the results are known, and has waged battles against certain voting methods since he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump has focused particularly on mail voting, arguing without evidence that it’s insecure and invites fraud even as he has shifted his position on the issue given its popularity with voters, including Republicans.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

Also read:

• Trump To Sign Order Closing Dept. Of Education: See RI Impacts
• RI Has Gotten $163M In Disaster Aid Since 2003: What If FEMA Was Cut?
• Trump Proposal To Eliminate Federal Taxes At 150K: What It Means In RI
• Brown University Enacts Hiring Freeze With Federal Funds At Risk
• RI AG Peter Neronha, 20 Others Sue Trump Administration Over Education Department Cuts.

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