President Donald Trump signed an executive order late Monday directing the creation of a federal voter registration database, a move that immediately drew legal challenges from multiple states and constitutional scholars who say it violates core principles of American federalism.
The executive order, which also includes provisions restricting mail-in voting access, marks one of the most aggressive federal interventions in state election administration in modern American history. Within hours of the signing, Oregon Attorney General Tobias Read announced his state would file suit in federal court.
"This executive order fundamentally misunderstands the Constitution," Read said in a statement. "Elections have always been administered by states. The federal government simply doesn't have the authority to create a national voter registry or dictate how states conduct their elections."
As Americans like to say, 'all politics is local'—even in the nation's capital. And few issues are more local than voter registration and election administration, which the Constitution deliberately leaves to individual states.
The order directs the Department of Justice to work with state officials to compile voter registration data into a centralized federal database. It also instructs federal agencies to develop new restrictions on mail-in voting, though the order provides few specifics on implementation.
Constitutional law experts from across the political spectrum expressed concerns about the order's legality. Michael McConnell, a conservative legal scholar at Stanford Law School and former federal appeals court judge, told reporters the order "raises serious federalism questions."
"The Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to regulate the 'times, places and manner' of federal elections," McConnell said. "And even that congressional power has limits when it comes to voter qualifications and registration, which states have traditionally controlled."
is also expected to file suit, according to sources familiar with the matter. Both and conduct their elections almost entirely by mail—systems that have been in place for years with strong bipartisan support in both states.





