Election officials from across the US meet to consider Trump’s order overhauling election operations

By CHRISTINA A CASSIDY CHARLOTTE N C AP State and local balloting functionaries from across the country are meeting Thursday to consider President Donald Trump s executive order that seeks major changes to how elections are run the first time those in charge of the nation s voting will formally gather to weigh in on its implications Related Articles Trump asks Supreme Court to allow ban on transgender members of the military to take effect for now In rare criticism of Putin Trump urges the Russian leader to STOP after a deadly attack on Kyiv Preponderance Americans expect higher prices as a development of Trump s tariffs new poll finds Trump will hold a rally in Michigan next week to mark his first days in office China denies any suggestion it is at present in talks with the US over tariffs The U S Electoral process Assistance Commission s Standards Board which is holding a masses hearing in North Carolina is a bipartisan advisory group of balloting officers from every state that meets annually The commission an independent federal agency is at the center of Trump s executive order The March order directs the commission to update the national voter registration form to include a proof-of-citizenship requirement revise guidelines for voting systems and withhold federal money from any state that continues to accept ballots after Polling Day Voting rights groups the Democratic Party and Democratic executives in states have sued arguing that the Republican president is exceeding his authority under the Constitution and interfering with states power to set voting rules They want to block the commission from taking action to implement the executive order The Constitution says it s up to states to determine the times places and manner of how elections are run while Congress has the power to make or alter regulations for presidential and congressional elections It does not grant the president any authority over how elections are administered Congress created the Voting process Assistance Commission after the presidential vote which included a contested outcome in Florida to help states update their voting equipment Under the law the commission was charged with distributing federal money for new voting equipment creating voluntary guidelines for voting systems establishing a federal testing and certification activity for them and overseeing the national voter registration form It also has worked closely with the states to gather an array of figures and share ideas on how to run elections more efficiently Trump who continues to make false states about the presidential balloting instructed the commission to take appropriate action within days to require documentary proof of citizenship on the national voter registration form The order outlines acceptable documents as a U S passport a REAL ID-compliant driver s license or official military ID that indicates the applicant is a citizen or a government-issued photo ID accompanied by proof of citizenship The requirement has caused widespread concern that it will disenfranchise millions of voters who don t have a passport or ready access to their birth certificate or other documents that will prove their citizenship Similar laws at the state level have caused disruptions including during town elections last month in New Hampshire and in Kansas where a since overturned law ended up blocking the voter registrations of people who were citizens and otherwise eligible to vote Trump s order also directed the Ballot Assistance Commission to take all appropriate action to cease federal money for any state that fails to use the form that includes the proof-of-citizenship requirement though a handful of states are exempt under federal law from using the national form A few states would have to halt their practice of counting late-arriving mail ballots that are postmarked by Electoral process Day If they don t Trump s executive order directs the commission to withhold election-related funding Oregon and Washington have filed a separate lawsuit against the executive order saying it would upend their elections because they rely entirely on mail voting