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.



UN Nuclear Watchdog Team in Iran for Technical Talks 

In this photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, center, visits an exhibition of Iran's nuclear achievements, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP)
In this photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, center, visits an exhibition of Iran's nuclear achievements, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP)
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UN Nuclear Watchdog Team in Iran for Technical Talks 

In this photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, center, visits an exhibition of Iran's nuclear achievements, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP)
In this photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, center, visits an exhibition of Iran's nuclear achievements, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP)

A technical team from the International Atomic Energy Agency has arrived in Iran for talks with nuclear experts, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, as a follow up to the UN nuclear watchdog chief's visit to Tehran earlier this month.

"The delegation arrived in Iran and will hold technical talks with Iranian experts today, including on safeguards," Esmaeil Baghaei said during a weekly press conference.

Last week, Iran and the United States held a third round of nuclear talks in Oman, where technical-level negotiations were also held.

Following the conclusion of these talks, Iran's foreign minister said IAEA experts might join the next round of Iran-US nuclear talks due on Saturday.

Visiting Tehran on April 17, IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi said his agency could help achieve a positive outcome in the negotiations.

In 2018, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and major world powers, leading Iran to subsequently surpass that deal's uranium enrichment limits and limit the IAEA's oversight.

In February, the IAEA released a report saying the current situation is "of serious concern" as Tehran is enriching uranium to up to 60% purity, near weapons grade. Tehran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons.