The sweeping order also would seek to take federal funding away from states that do not comply.
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.
“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.”
“This is a blatant attack on democracy and an authoritarian power grab,“ said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of advocacy group Public Citizen.
Public Citizen noted that about 146 million Americans do not have a passport, and Brennan Center research showed 9 percent of U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote, or 21.3 million people, do not have proof of citizenship “readily available.”
The White House argued that Trump's order would prevent foreign nationals from interfering in U.S. elections. Under the new directive, voters would be asked a citizenship question on the federal voting form for the first time.
The order criticized policies allowing mail-in ballots to arrive and be counted after Election Day. The order said Trump's policy is to “require that votes be cast and received by the election date established in law.”
Trump's order also requires the secretary of Homeland Security to ensure states have access to systems that verify the citizenship or immigration status of people who register to vote.
The Republican National Committee said on Tuesday it had requested public records from 48 states and Washington, D.C., to check how they maintain their voter registration lists.
“Voters have a right to know that their states are properly maintaining voter rolls and quickly acting to clean voter registration lists by removing ineligible voters,“ RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement.
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