Top 5 Things You Need to Know About the New Mail-In Voting Executive Order
- The executive order explicitly targets the processing and counting of mail-in ballots, requiring all states to count incoming ballots up to 11:59 PM local time on Election Day itself, ending the practice of accepting ballots postmarked by that date but arriving days later.
- Under the new order, every ballot envelope must include a unique barcode that links to the voter's registration record, allowing election officials to instantly verify the voter’s identity and eligibility without opening the envelope.
- Strict chain-of-custody rules now apply to all drop boxes: each box must be under 24/7 video surveillance, with seals that are tamper-proof, and only election workers with specific credentials can collect ballots from them.
- The order mandates that all states purge their voter rolls of any registrant who has not voted in the last two federal elections or has failed to respond to a confirmation notice within 90 days, which could remove millions of voters from the rolls.
- Legal challenges are already underway from voting rights groups and multiple states, arguing that the executive order unconstitutionally overrides state election laws and violates the National Voter Registration Act.