Trump Signs Order Requiring Citizenship Proof in Federal Elections 

US President Donald Trump responds to questions from the news media during a meeting with ambassador nominees in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 25 March 2025. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump responds to questions from the news media during a meeting with ambassador nominees in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 25 March 2025. (EPA)
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Trump Signs Order Requiring Citizenship Proof in Federal Elections 

US President Donald Trump responds to questions from the news media during a meeting with ambassador nominees in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 25 March 2025. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump responds to questions from the news media during a meeting with ambassador nominees in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 25 March 2025. (EPA)

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered tighter controls on federal elections, including requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote, as the Republican continues to attack a system he insists remains tilted against him.

Experts swiftly denounced his executive order as an abuse of presidential power that could ultimately prevent millions of Americans from casting ballots, and rights groups already have vowed to challenge it in court.

Trump, now in his second term, has never acknowledged his defeat to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, and he maintains baseless claims of massive election fraud -- particularly in absentee voting, a method which has become widely used across the United States.

"Perhaps some people think I shouldn't be complaining, because we won in a landslide" last November, Trump said as he signed the executive order in the White House.

"But we've got to straighten out our election. This country is so sick because of the election, the fake elections," he said. "And we're going to straighten it out, one way or the other."

The new rules will require proof of citizenship to be presented -- through documents such as a passport -- when registering to vote in one's state of residence. US states that fail to comply with the directive could see cuts to their federal election funding.

According to the executive order, the attorney general would be empowered to "take all necessary action... against States that violate these provisions by including absentee or mail-in ballots received after Election Day in the final tabulation of votes."

Several states allow absentee ballots to be counted if they arrive after Election Day, provided they are postmarked before the polls close in their state.

For law professor Richard Hasen of the University of California, Los Angeles, this "dangerous" executive order could "potentially disenfranchise millions of voters."

On his Election Law blog, Hasen calls Trump's directive "an executive power grab," and notes that federal elections are largely the responsibility of the states, with Congress setting rules for the conduct of elections.

The Brennan Center, a nonprofit public policy institute, denounced the executive order, posting on X that it "would block tens of millions of American citizens from voting. Presidents have no authority to do this."

The powerful civil liberties group ACLU also slammed the order as "an extreme abuse of power" and suggested legal challenges would be filed. "We'll see him in court," it said.

Voting in US federal elections by non-citizens has been a criminal offense for decades, with the law threatening fines, imprisonment and deportation.



Tens of Thousands Protest in The Hague Against Gaza War

Thousands of people, some waving the Palestinian flag, gather against the Dutch government's Israel policy, as they protest on Malieveld, in The Hague on May 18, 2025. (AFP)
Thousands of people, some waving the Palestinian flag, gather against the Dutch government's Israel policy, as they protest on Malieveld, in The Hague on May 18, 2025. (AFP)
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Tens of Thousands Protest in The Hague Against Gaza War

Thousands of people, some waving the Palestinian flag, gather against the Dutch government's Israel policy, as they protest on Malieveld, in The Hague on May 18, 2025. (AFP)
Thousands of people, some waving the Palestinian flag, gather against the Dutch government's Israel policy, as they protest on Malieveld, in The Hague on May 18, 2025. (AFP)

Tens of thousands of protesters marched through The Hague on Sunday demanding a tougher stance from the Dutch government against Israel's war in Gaza.

Organizer Oxfam Novib said around 100,000 protesters had joined the march, most dressed in red expressing their desire for a "red line" against Israel's siege on Gaza, where it has cut off medical, food and fuel supplies.

The march also passed the seat of the International Court of Justice, which is hearing a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide and last year ordered Israel to halt a military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Israel dismisses accusations of genocide as baseless and has argued in court that its operations in Gaza are self defense and targeted at Hamas fighters who attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

Oxfam Novib said the Dutch government had ignored what it said were war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza, and urged protesters to demand a tougher line.

Dutch Foreign Affairs minister Caspar Veldkamp earlier this month said he wanted the EU to reconsider cooperation agreements it has with Israel.

But the Dutch government has so far refrained from harsher criticism, and the leader of the largest party in the government coalition, anti-Muslim populist Geert Wilders, has repeatedly voiced unwavering support for Israel.

Wilders called Sunday's protesters "confused" and accused them in a post on X of supporting Hamas.